


There's Only One More Shot

by SaltyBlueChurro



Series: Taking The Shot [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Guns, Knives, MANY minor character deaths, Minor Character Death, Multi, Skittles, Slow Burn, Some Graphic depictions of injures and violence, i'm bad at tags sorry, non-canon typical violence, spy AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2020-04-12 10:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19130074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltyBlueChurro/pseuds/SaltyBlueChurro
Summary: After Alfor's death, Allura puts together a team of spies to help counteract the evil the Galra have planned. The team is put together and must bond in order to have the operation run smoothly and efficiently. There will be ups, downs, twists, death, and destruction among the laughs and friendships (and possible relationships). Will they defeat the Galra or will they be destroyed?





	1. Montreal, Canada

**Author's Note:**

> Hi yes this has been in the works for months and I'm finally confident enough to post this!! Although it's been a good six months since the end I hope you still enjoy this! 
> 
> Will (hopefully) be posting every other Friday!  
> Next Chapter comes out 6/14

            Sunny skies hit Allura as she made her way out of the agency office, high heels clicking down the stairs. After a few weeks of being undercover, she finally got a break to relax at home. It had been a tiring mission to do as it required three months of intermingling into the organization without any suspicion. Allura had been told it would be an easy extraction once she contacted the deep undercover agent; however, in her line of work, it would never be so simple.

            Slipping into her soft pink Camaro, Allura glanced in her rearview mirror to notice one guy in a black suit standing on the street corner pretending to smoke. His hair was long and white like hers. Her hand slowly reached towards the glovebox where her small silver pistol resided as she kept one eye looking at the man. Hopefully, Allura did not need to use the weapon in plain sight since it would be extremely hard to explain that she wasn’t an enforcement officer, but a spy that was not completely attached to one country’s government. That wouldn’t end well. Her father and Coran would be disappointed.

            Firmly having a grip on the gun, she sat up straight only to notice her focus had drifted and the man had disappeared. Allura quickly looked around not noticing a hair of her apparent stalker anywhere. Not letting her guard down, the car was put into drive and slowly left the parking spot. The radio came on playing a new pop song that Allura started to hum along with, bobbing her head slightly in beat while her hand tapped on the wheel, her other hand gripped the pistol in her lap.

            Suddenly out of nowhere, there was a dark black car tailing her. Allura sighed before making a sharp left turn onto a side road hoping to shake her tails. She glanced up and noticed the car was still behind her and picking up speed. Heart racing, Allura made a U-turn and pulled out her pistol before taking a shot at their tires in hopes to slow them down. She missed.

            “Son of a bitch,” Allura shouted, picking up speed before barreling down another side street, praying to not run into another person.

            The car was still following her, and her hand was started to slip from the stress of the situation. Allura quickly took a side road that was a small fit for her car and should hopefully stop the other car. She whooped in success as the car got trapped in the entrance of the small road before she continued on her way home.

            As she pulled into her driveway, she noticed that her front door was opened. Cautiously she took her pistol with her as she made her way into her home. Allura nudged open the door as if she was a police officer entering and checking for the culprit only to meet with darkness. Treading carefully, she made her way towards a room the was shining bright with light.

            “Now where is that first aid kit, Allura keeps,” came the voice that Allura knew well. It was Coran.

            “Coran? What are you doing here?” Allura asked as she stepped into the room, lowering her gun slowly. Once spotting her eccentric godfather, she screamed. He was coated in blood and dripping in the bathroom to help get rid of the blood by stand under the shower.

            “Allura! Grab what you can quickly and put it in your car. We have to leave,” Coran said, neglecting to explain why he was coated in blood. He turned on the water for the shower and watched as the blood washed off his body, swirling around the drain.

            “Coran! What’s is going on? Why are you covered in blood? Has my father returned yet?” Allura questioned, not moving from her spot. Her arms crossed over her chest with the pistol relaxing on her elbow.

            “No time to explain. Go!” Coran waved her away, flicking some of the diluted water onto Allura’s face.

            Allura wiped the specks off before turning and going to the vault where all the top-secret documents were kept. She placed her thumb on the fingerprint scanner while also leaning down to the iris scanner. She stepped through the first set of doors before typing in a pin number followed by a passphrase. The second set of doors opened with a soft squeak as Allura stepped through only to face a bank-like vault. She sighed before turning the combination to the correct one and opening it, only this time there was a single folder on the table. Allura blinked in confusion. With all the security they had protecting the room, one would think there would be more.

            She grabbed the lone folder before making her way back out and into her father’s office to find Coran, a bandage wrapped around his head, holding a box with other files that weren’t deemed as important as the one in the vault. Allura plopped down onto a chair, setting the folder on the desk before her. She rubbed her eyes in stress. It was supposed to be a relaxing day.

            Coran gave a soft exhale before setting the box down on the desk and setting a hand on Allura’s back, rubbing slow circles to help ease her stress. He debated telling Allura the devastating news or just letting it be. Nonetheless, they both needed to leave as soon as possible.

            “Allura. There’s something you must know about your father,” Coran spoke, watching as Allura’s head popped up, worry in her eyes. He took a deep breath before continuing, “He’s dead. We found out soon after you left. Zarkon killed him, I’m sure of it. After the news came through, some of our agents turned on us. It was a massacre. I’m surprised I was able to get away.”

            Allura let out a sob, curling in on herself. Her father, dead? It couldn’t be possible there’s no way unless Zarkon betrayed him. But why would he do that? They’re best friends! The built everything from the ground up.

            “We have to go to Base One. It’s what. It’s what your father would have wanted,” Coran said, pulling Allura into a hug. He hated that he had to do this but there was no choice. _They_ were coming.

            “Base One?” Allura asked in Coran’s hug. She pulled herself away, wiping the tears that had fallen.

            “I’ll explain on the way. We’ve got to go, princess,” Coran said before resuming grabbing documents. Once Coran gathered what he believed was important, he had Allura hold the folder that was in the safe. The two made their way down to Allura’s car, Coran taking driver’s side, before speeding off to Base One.

            Once they had arrived, the two set to get the place in working order. Allura stared in awe of the large place. It had high ceilings with soft, white lights decorating along the walls. The entire place was extravagant and Allura’s favorite place was the office that overlooked the entire place, an office fit for a director.

            “Welcome to Altea, Base One. We have several other bases spread across the world that are waiting to be activated on your command,” Coran said, gesturing towards the control board, showing light blue dots for each base.

            “My command? Are you sure?” Allura looked at the man in question, her finger hesitating over the activate button.

            “Positive. It may take time, but we need Voltron,” Coran stood next to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

            “Voltron?” Allura said, eyebrows furrowed.

            “Open the folder.”

            Allura carefully opened the folder only to be bombarded with information about Voltron. It was an elite team of spies that were handpicked by her father. There were several, maybe hundreds of resumes for those who may be worthy to be bestowed the honor of being a part of Voltron. She sighed before setting out the first person she felt qualified.

            “Lance McClain. Is he a relative of Veronica McClain in the Havana office? Or what was the Havana office, I’m assuming,” Allura sat down on the control board.

            “I believe so. Shall I make contact to bring him in?” Coran asked, moving towards the phone, awaiting Allura’s choice.

            “Yes. Also contact Katie Holt, Takashi Shirogane, Hunk Garrett, and whoever the Blade is willing to lend us. Advocate for Keith Kogane, his file says he’s one of their best. Voltron is our only hope in fixing this mess.”


	2. Havana, Cuba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has a lot of shit happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no impulse control I'm sorry  
> Next Chapter: idk whenever I feel like posting it
> 
> For Chapter Hints follow me on twitter @ SaltyBlueChurro

            A blaring noise of the default ringtone echoed around the room Lance was nestled in. His slim hand reached up and grabbed the phone before it stopped ringing. Eyes blurry the call was answered with a raspy greeting.

            “We need you to come in today, you have a special assignment, Blue,” a deep voice came through the phone speaking Spanish. Lance blinked before sitting up allowing the dark blue duvet to slide down around his waist in a bunch.

            “What? Today’s supposed my day off! You promised!” Lance argued back, eyes glancing over to see a movement from the other half of the bed. He sees wisps of dark blue hair sticking out from the head of a person. Lance smiles softly before reaching over to brush the hair back from the female’s face. She always has been his favorite person. The two have worked on missions together for years. She’d slip in for close range while he covered her back thus making them a good team.

            “This is an urgent matter, Blue. You can’t refuse this offer. The higher ups will kill both of us if you don’t take it. We will discuss this when you come in. Be here in an hour. And be sure to get rid of Rose. She is no longer needed,” the sharp tone brought Lance out of his thoughts. He blinked slowly registering what he must do. Lance couldn’t believe what his boss was asking him to do.

            “Wait. I can’t-” Lance was cut off with the click of the telephone. He dropped his phone into his lap before bringing his hands up to his eyes, digging the palms in and releasing a groan of stress.

            “What’s up, buttercup?” a soft, homely voice whispered next to Lance. His eyes shot over to her equally soft features. Taking in her glowing appearance, he leaned down for a soft kiss. He wondered when exactly did the two of them turned from work partners to actual partners. His hand cupped her face gently as he began memorizing every detail. He could never forget her. _He couldn’t kill her_. There has to be another way.

            “I got called in,” Lance glanced at the time, noticing it was before sunrise, “Would you like to see the sunrise before I have to leave?” He received a smile in reply before being dragged out of bed by the woman who startled giggling. He smiled brightly at her. He _loves_ her.

            “My love. I have something important to tell you,” she clamped tighter to Lance’s body. He took her hand into his, gripping tightly as a promise to never let go and to steady his grown anxieties over the order to kill someone he loved. Maybe the two of them can run away, go off-grid, or something.

            “Really? What is it Plax?” Lance tapped his finger lightly against the back of her hand in a rhythmic pattern. It was Morse for I love you. She just smiled and squeezed his hand, sensing his growing anxiousness. She knew him well and in return, he knew her well. They were practically perfect for each other. The two reached the roof of the apartment complex sooner than Lance hoped. He could make it look like an accident. Maybe he could set a building on fire and place an already dead body. He couldn’t, _wouldn’t_  kill her.

            “Lance. Hmm. How do I say this?” Plax took a deep breath before letting out her secret, “Buttercup. I’m pregnant.” Lance blinked as Plax did small jazz hands before Lance was wrapping her into a hug and spinning her around.

            “You’re what?” Lance laughed, not believing her. He was going to be a father!

            “Pregnant, yes. Also, Lance? I’m. I’m sorry but I have orders. I don’t really want to follow them, but I _have_ to,” Plax looked down at her bare feet. At this moment, Lance felt sucker punched. She was given the same orders he was, and it was just a matter of who could do them first. His hand cradled her face carefully, pressing his forehead to hers. Lance could feel the burn of tears forming in his eyes. _There wasn’t another way_.

            "Hey, Plax. We make a good team don't you think?" Lance smiles with tears in his eyes, not wanting to kill her. He could see her tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and one slowly slipped down. He used his thumb to rub the stray tear away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone covered in black with only their eyes and hair visible. Lance tensed up. Something wasn’t right.

            "Yeah. I guess we-" Plax was cut off short by a small dagger in her stomach. Her eyes widened in shock as she didn’t see the person. Lance glanced down to see the offending object protruding from her back, making a clean cut to the point sticking out slightly in the front. He blinked as tears were forming faster as Lance realized that this was the end. Whoever threw the knife had great skills as to not hit him with it.

            "Plax?" Lance grabbed onto Plax as she fell forward, cradling her in his arms. He looked around to see a flash of black hair go around the corner. How did someone malicious sneak up on both of them? They were normally better than this. He held Plax even closer as her blood covered his arms, sobbing harder as the light started fading from her eyes.

            “Buttercup. Know that I love you. You need to take down the agency. For me,” Plax’s breathing slowed down as she let out a harsh cough, saliva coated in blood. Lance gripped her tighter, shaking as he knew she wasn’t going to make it. His unborn child, gone. His love, his life, his everything: gone.

            “Of course, love. Of course,” Lance cried, loud and painful, losing his grip on his first love as she took her last few breaths and pulled him closer for her final words. He couldn’t stop the tears covering her face as it paled.

            “Please. Move on. I trust you,” her hand that gripped his shirt fell down as she closed her eyes before they took on a glassy look as the sun rose around the two. Her hair seeming dull in Lance’s eyes.

            “I trust you, too,” he whispered softly, tears falling. They fell gently onto her body as Lance gave her one last squeeze, shirt getting coated in blood, before setting her down gently. He looked around him as everything took on a gray tone as if life had been sucked out of it and to Lance, it was.

            After carefully removing any evidence that ties him to her, he called the police to report a murder on a burn phone before gathering his stuff into three suitcases to abandon his apartment. Lance also took a quick shower to scrub off the drying in blood, but he could still see it coating his arms even if it was physically gone. It was too soon to handle all the memories, good and bad, that came with the place. Lance shut the door carefully behind him before sighing sadly and making his way to his beautiful baby blue ‘57 Thunderbird, a gift from Plax.

            Lance’s hands gripped the stark white steering wheel as he pulled away, leaving his apartment, and in essence his past, behind. It was show time at the agency and he needed to be prepared for anything that could come his way.

 


	3. Saint-Denis, France

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge, Matt, and Eliz break into a church. What could go wrong? Everything. Everything could go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeehaw we on chapter three
> 
> I'm deciding to post on tuesdays and fridays yeet
> 
> pls don't kill me
> 
> Chapter Hints on twitter @ SaltyBlueChurro

            Matt and Pidge were crouched on the roof of Le Khédive near Basilique Cathédrale de Saint-Denis, waiting for the guards to change. Eliz, their fellow agent on this mission, was hiding on the roof of the government offices, directly next to the Cathedral. The trio’s mission was to retrieve a flash drive that a contact had hidden near the crypt with all the hearts, more specifically next to the heart of Louis XVII. The only problem is that the heart is hard to get to.

            Pidge untucked her hair from her hat before untying her hair. It was a nervous habit of hers when she became anxious about a serious mission. She was so concerned whether or not that they’ll get caught because if they were, they are screwed. Valid passports did not exist in their real names as that would draw attention to them, however, it was also a hindrance if they were caught using fakes.

            “Green and Burn, get ready to go in,” came Eliz’s voice through Pidge and Matt’s earpieces.

            “Copy that, Perry,” Matt replied, eyeing Pidge’s untied hair, “P-Green, you should probably put that back up.”

            “I will. I will,” Pidge brushed Matt off, hand fiddling with a hair tie. Her golden-brown eyes scanned the area, figuring out the right time to make the zip line. They only had a five second window so if she timed this right the zip line will make an impact with the roof of the cathedral right when their window opens.

            “We got fifteen seconds before the window opens,” Eliz said, com crackling slightly as there was a sudden gust of wind. Pidge started lining up her zip line to the target area, counting down the time remaining before releasing the line with five seconds to go. It hit its mark right on time. Pidge and Matt quickly zipped down the line, the line was specially made to hold both of their weights to make these sorts of missions easier. Their father really was a genius after all.

            “Here’s the opening in the roof from the renovations,” Eliz pointed down the roof and started making their way towards the opening, Pidge and Matt following close behind. Carefully the trio lowered themselves into the building, touching lightly on the marble floor as to not alert anyone.

            “Follow me. I have an entire map of the place,” Matt whispered, wrist turned towards himself as the map of the place was displayed on the screen of a small watch that normal people would see as a smartwatch.

            Silently the trio made their way towards the crypt. Passing by the various tombs of the dead was creepy as Pidge felt they were calling out to her, warning her of something. She blinked and shook her head, finally noticing that her hair wasn’t tied up. She quickly put it up into a high ponytail to keep it out of her face for the rest of the retrieval.

            Suddenly, Matt stopped, holding an arm out to make sure no one else goes past him as they hear loud footsteps coming closer. Cursing under his breath, Matt put away the map as the three hid behind a pillar-like structure and held their breaths, waiting for the inevitable bust. What felt like decades passed before the guard moved away from them, heading the opposite direction then they were. Quickly and quietly they came to the outside of the small entrance where the hearts reside. Pidge, being the smallest, carefully made her way over to Louis’ heart and felt behind it for the small flash drive. For all this effort, the information on it better be worth it.

            “Got it!” Pidge shouted before her eyes widen as she covered her mouth hoping her voice didn’t carry through the rest of the building. Matt and Eliz shared a look of worry before letting out a relieved breath, thankful that someone was on their side today.

            “Let’s go quickly,” Matt said, pushing Pidge in front of him with Eliz behind them. They quickly found the unlocked door, left by their connection in maintenance.

            As soon as they stepped outside, Pidge let out a fist pump in victory and Matt wrapped her up into a hug, swinging her around, only to be interrupted by their watches beeping. They stared at each other in confusion before checking their watches.

**_ DIRECTOR DEAD. ALL MISSIONS COMPROMISED. SLEEPERS AWAKE. _ **

            Matt and Pidge shared a glance before looking over to Eliz as they had suddenly stiffened up, almost robotic in nature. Their head snapped to look at the siblings before a glazed look covered their eyes.

            “Oh shit,” Matt breathed before grabbing Pidge by the arm and starting to run, dragging the two away as fast as possible from the compromised, Eliz. This was not good. This was bad, very, very bad. Where would they go? Safehouse? No. If they went there, they would be ambushed before they could leave. Secret safe house? It’s the only option the two have.

            “Fu-. MATT!” Pidge was suddenly yanked back out of his grip. He whipped around to see Pidge being dragged by the ponytail by Eliz. He reached down to his holster, pulling out his 9mm gun and taking aim at Eliz.

            “Let her go!” Matt came closer, the gun never wavering. Eliz tightened their grip on Pidge’s hair causing her to let out a yelp. Matt gulped as he heard cars squealing and coming ever so closer. There were others coming, they had to _leave_.

            “No one can escape. Sleepers awake,” came a monotone reply from Eliz, their hand gripping a knife tightly, inching ever so closer to Pidge. Pidge duck and kicked at Eliz’s leg while Matt pulled Pidge behind him as he tackled Eliz to the ground. The two tousled as Matt tried to wrestle the knife out of their hands only to be met with a cut across his right eye, rendering it useless. He pulled back with a gasp, hands covering the injured eye. He rolled to his left narrowly avoiding the sharp object before hearing the roar of a gun. Matt felt the body of Eliz fall on top of him, blood starting to seep into his clothes, distracting from the wound in his eye. He looked back, with his one good eye, at Pidge to see her standing with the smoking gun.

            “Let’s go,” Pidge said, pushing the dead body off Matt before helping him up and pressing another piece of fabric to Matt’s bleeding eye to hopefully stop the bleeding. The two stumbled their way to the getaway moped as the original plan was to go separate ways and meet up back at HQ but when has anything ever gone to plan.

            “Do you mind driving? I kinda can’t right now,” Matt gestured to his eye. Pidge nodded before climbing on the front before helping secure Matt in his seat. Pidge headed down Rue de Strasbourg towards the location of the secret safe house. It really wasn’t a safe house more of a family vacation home where the two can hide out for a night before getting the hell out of France.

            “I fucking hate roundabouts,” Pidge grumbled as she went through it. She followed the same road until she hit the apartment block hosting their house, or apartment really. She got Matt off the moped, telling him to head inside before she went and ditched the moped in a completely different area.

            Once Pidge made it back, she collapsed onto the couch groaning in exhaustion. Matt snickered before yelping as he had accidentally hit his injury. Pidge lifted her head to see Matt’s right eye covered in gauze and band-aids. She lifted her brow in question as to why her brother didn’t use tape.

            “We ran out of tape. Band-aids were the next closest thing. Probably should go to the doctor soon, though. Don’t wanna get an infection. Although, I think I might not be able to-” Matt’s rambling was cut off by a ring of the phone. The duo stared at each other wondering how someone knew they were there.

            Pidge sighed before reaching over and gripping the phone, “Bonjour.”

            “Green? It’s Orange.”


	4. San Francisco, United States

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Broganes are BROS + Adam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeehaw I almost forgot it was tuesday
> 
> I say random shit on Twitter @ SaltyBlueChurro

            Shiro was sitting in a hole-in-the-wall cafe, waiting for his brother, Keith, to arrive. He looked at his watch before sighing. Keith was running late yet again, and it wasn’t the first time it has happened. Only it was the first time it had happened _three days_ in a row. Shiro ran a hand through his hair before finally ordering for himself and Keith.

            The bell dinged as Keith walked in and plopped down onto the vacant seat. He set his head on the table before groaning, whether it be in pain or because he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

            “Good morning to you too, grump,” Shiro said, chuckling before kicking Keith’s leg to make him sit up in the booth. Keith glared before pouting and sitting upright. Shiro rolled his eyes as their food arrived.

            “One mocha espresso with buttermilk pancakes,” the waiter set the food down in front of Shiro, “And one juice with scrambled eggs and bacon.” Keith’s face lit up at the bacon before squinting at Shiro suspiciously. Shiro only gave Keith bacon when there was bad news or news Keith didn’t want to hear.

            “Expresso? I thought you didn’t like those,” Keith mumbled before stabbing his eggs with a knife. Shiro blinked as he watched Keith bring the knife to his mouth and ate the little bit of egg that was on it.

            “I don’t mind them. Just wanted to try something different for a change,” Shiro said, before taking a sip of the caffeinated drink, “Besides, I’m not stabbing my eggs with a _knife_.”

            Keith tilted his head in confusion before looking at the knife gripped in his hand. He groaned before setting the knife down and picking up his fork to continue consuming his brunch. Shiro shook his head before digging into his pancakes, holding back a small moan of pleasure when he put them into his mouth. The pancakes had to be one of the best he has ever had. The two brothers, although not brothers by blood, continued their meal in silence.

            “Here’s some cannolis. For dessert. Already paid for,” their waiter set the plate on the table before briskly walking off. Shiro and Keith shared a look before looking at the cannolis.

            “I don’t trust them. The waiter was shifty when he brought them over. His eyes were looking away from us and towards someone else. I think he was forced to bring these to us. Someone is trying to drug us or kill us or something!” Keith whispered harshly; his eyes wide with panic. It had been a while since the last time someone tried to drug Keith when he wasn’t on a mission, although one of those times was actually food poisoning. It was hard for Keith to forget the blue eyes that bored into him from across the room, watching as he swallowed the drugged drink.

            “It’s okay, Keith. We’ll just ask for a take-home box and you can take them to a lab to get tested. If you have the clearance for that in the FBI,” Shiro whispered in his calm voice, soothing Keith’s worries. Keith forgot that he was an FBI agent to everyone but the actual FBI. He hated lying to his brother, but it was for his protection. No one could know he was part of the Blade.

            “Right. Always the voice of reason. Also, why the bacon? Was there something you needed to tell me?” Keith said, his arms coming to cross in front of his chest almost as if he was a turtle going into his shell.

            “Oh, that’s what I forgot. I got a job offer earlier and I might accept it. The only thing is,” Shiro paused, thinking about how he was going to word the next part of his sentence without accidentally hurting Keith.

            “What?” Keith snapped in irritation as he waited for Shiro, “Spit it out!”

            “They asked for you to come along, too. And I know how much you love your job with the FBI, and I don’t know why they would ask you to tag along when they called me. How would they even know you would be meeting with me for them to tell me to tell you today? The only answer I can think of is that they are spies. Excellent spies,” Shiro rambled, afraid for Keith’s outburst.

            “They asked for _me_? Why me? There are a billion other people who would be better suited than some FBI agent,” Keith said as he sunk into his seat in confusion and bewilderment, far opposite of the reaction Shiro was waiting for.

            “Keith,” Shiro sighed, he knew he was about to completely shatter Keith’s world with what he was about to say, “I know.”

            “Know what?” Keith scrunched his eyebrows in utter confusion. What was Shiro talking about?

            “The Blade. I know.”

            “You _what_?” Keith hissed as he stood up, almost knocking the table over. He stormed out the of the cafe and into the street, leaving Shiro behind to pay the bill and bag the cannolis. Keith turned sharply into the alleyway next to the cafe before leaning against the exposed brick wall and hitting his head on it.

            “Figured I find you here,” Shiro said, the bag containing the cannolis rustled as he moves to lean against the opposite wall.

            “I can’t believe you knew. I’ve been trying to keep it a secret from you since I started there. How did you find out?” Keith glared and crossed his arms with a huff.

            “The person who called me for the job offer told me. I don’t think he knew that I didn’t know,” Shiro sighed, moving to lay a hand on Keith’s shoulder as a show of support. Keith’s eyes glared at a spot on the ground as he gave off another huff.

            “I should’ve told you the truth. I was just trying to protect you,” Keith mumbled.

            Shiro laughed before ruffling Keith’s hair with his hand, “I’m the big brother here. I’m supposed to protect _you_.” Keith relaxed his arms a bit before giving off a sigh. “Come on, let's go back to my place,” Shiro said, offering no room for debate.

            The two brothers walked in silence as they made their way to Shiro’s quaint apartment in the city whether Keith tends to crash after a long mission or a bad mission. Keith tried not to stay over too often because of Shiro’s roommate. The two of them were practically dating even if neither of them realized it. They were pining fools.

            Shiro nudged open the door, after fumbling with his keys, and shouted, “I’m home and I brought Keith with me!” Keith rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag that contained the cannolis to hide with his jacket in the storage closet that was next to the door. Hopefully, no one eats them.

            “Hey, Keith. How have you been?” the calm voice of Shiro’s roommate, Adam called out from the kitchen where he was wolfing down a sandwich he made. Keith rolled his eyes as he answered with a one-word answer, watching as Shiro strode across the kitchen to pull out a glass to fill with water. He then slid it across the counter to where Adam was sitting at the breakfast bar just in time for Adam to swallow incorrectly.

            “You two give me a headache,” Keith said, before slapping a hand to his mouth in realization to what he just said about Shiro and Adam. He must have been _really_ tired.

            “What? If it’s anyone who should get a headache it would be me because of you two gay disasters!” Adam said glaring at Shiro who was blushing, whether it be because of his crush or in embarrassment.

            “Like you’re a functional gay!” Keith said, arms crossing with a pout forming on his face. Adam rolled his eyes before flicking a bit of water in Shiro’s direction.

            “Adam!” Shiro gasped. Keith snickered as he watched the two dance around each other in a mock fight. Shiro, after several minutes, managed to get Adam into a headlock and waited for Adam to cry, uncle. The two were red-faced with laughter.

 _This is love_. Keith though as he watched the two with a small smile on his face. _This is what family feels like_.


	5. Base One: Altea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura looks over her choices and waits for them to arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love Allura
> 
> Follow me @ SaltyBlueChurro on twitter for random shit and updates

            Allura sighed as she laid the first folder out before her.  
           

 _Name:_ **_Leandro (Lance) McClain_**

_Code Name: **Blue**_

_Birthday: **July 28, 20XX**_

_Age: **22**_

_Skills: **Excellent Marksman, Fluent in six languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian, Russian, and German), and great with partner work**_

 

            Allura rose an eyebrow, impressed with Lance so far. With him speaking six languages will help with international missions. His young age will help with charming those of a _finer_ taste. She glanced up at the photo that was attached to the folder and was met with bright blue eyes like the sea. His smile was very youthful for someone of his _expertise_ and he had a sort of boyish charm associated with the shape of his face. Across the tip of his nose and onto his cheeks were a sprinkle of freckles that complemented his complexion. All in all, he was very beautiful for a man. Allura decided to continue reading his file.

 

_Confirmed kills: **332**_

_Missions: **338**_

 

            Allura decided that was enough for today as she read the number of kills he had. She’d have to ask Veronica when Lance started as a spy. This was too many for someone so young. Although she really shouldn’t be talking since she started out as a spy in her father’s agency when she was 17, just shy of 18. That was only eight years ago. She needed to talk to Veronica.

            “Princess? I’ve made some lunch for us,” Coran’s voice chimed in through the open doorway of her office in Altea. She still wasn’t used to it. Only a few hours have passed since the breach and her father’s death.

            “Go ahead without me. I’m not hungry,” Allura replied, moving Lance’s file off her desk and into the bin that she decided to label with a v that stood for Voltron. She then proceeded to pick up the next folder on Katie Holt.

            “Allura. I know this is hard for you, but please for the love of quiznak, eat. At least have an apple or toast or something. You need to eat, or you’ll run yourself ragged,” Coran reasoned, his worry prominent. He was always another father figure to her when her father was away on missions.

            “How about a compromise? I’ll look at this folder and then come down for lunch,” Allura lifted her eyebrow in a do-not-test-me sort of way. Coran seemed agitated at the fact that she wasn’t eating right this very instant.

            “No. Right now,” Coran growled. Allura became alarmed at the noise and slowly reached for the gun that was concealed under the drawer of her desk. Her hand gripped around it tightly, awaiting the moment she would have to use it.

            “Coran? Are you okay?” Allura kept her voice from betraying her inner panic. This was not her Coran.

            “I am perfectly fine. There’s no need to worry,” Coran said, stepping closer to the desk, caging Allura in as if she were a wounded gazelle. Her eyes darted to the window and the door, judging her best route of escape before things turned ugly. However, she would not have to take one of these routes as Coran, or Fake-Coran had just been knocked out.

            “You okay, princess?” Coran, the _real_ Coran, stood over top of his doppelganger with a bat in his hands.

            “Coran? Is that really you?” Allura let a tear fall before standing up and racing towards Coran, only to stop a couple of feet away as she remembered that she was fooled once.

            “It’s really me, Princess. Sorry, it took a bit of time for me to track you down. I was afraid you had perished with the rest. Good thing I have tricks up my sleeve or I would have taken longer to find you. Are you alright? Do you need anything?” Coran made various gestures as he started to describe what had occurred and his theory as to why the doppelganger knew so much.

            “It really is you!” Allura interrupted before crashing into Coran’s arms with a small sob. Coran smiled, hugging her back, murmuring reassurances that it really was him and that he was sorry that she had to deal with a clone.

            “Now, what do we say about disposing this body and getting back to work. I’ll bring up some food when you’re ready,” Coran smiled before hefting the body over his shoulder and heading out of Allura’s office to god knows where. Allura only nodded before she turned back to the folder on her desk.

 

_Name: **Katie (Pidge) Holt**_

_Code name: **Green**_

_Birthday: **April 3, 20XX**_

_Age: **20**_

_Skills: **Great with tech, small enough to fit in tight spaces, and fluent in three languages (English, Italian, and Binary)**_

_Confirmed kills: **10**_

_Missions: **220**_

 

            Allura stopped reading the file and hit her head on her desk. Katie was by far the one who should not be eligible for Voltron, yet here she is. Allura lifted her head back up and pursed her lips. Katie’s youthful face, smiling with mischievous eyes, stared back at her into her soul. Allura knew she was making the right choice, she just wished it was with people who were closer to her age. Allura also knew that she was a bit young to be a director, but unfortunate circumstances happen.

            Tossing the folder into the Voltron bin, Allura reached for the next one in hopes that it would be someone her age for once. She opened it carefully and started to read.

 

_Name: **Takashi (Shiro) Shirogane**_

_Code Name: **Winter**_

_Birthday: **February 29, 20XX  
            **Age: **30**_

_Skills: **Ex-Air Force pilot, great strategist, and an excellent leader**_

_Confirmed Kills: **Unknown**_

_Missions: **300**_

 

            Allura smiled in relief. Finally, someone who was on the older end of the group. She glanced back down at the ex-air force pilot part with a frown. Someone who was not part of a spy organization was now a great candidate for Voltron? Something didn’t quite add up. She shook her head to clear it of these thoughts before laying the folder on top of the other two folders. Allura stretched her arms above her head as her stomach grumbled for food.

            Allura made her way out of her office and down the stairs hoping to find Coran soon so she could figure out where the kitchen in this place is. Altea was still mesmerizing to her as she gently touched the pristine off-white walls lined with light blue lights, glowing from the floor and ceiling, giving the place a futuristic feel. Why did her father keep this place a secret from her? Did he not trust her? Or was this for her own protection? Allura wished she could ask her father these questions and so much more. Her father should be here, helping her. How can she do this alone? As these thoughts circulated through her head, she ran smack dab into Coran.

            “Oh! I’m sorry, Coran. I didn’t see you there,” Allura said as she got up from the floor. So much for any grace she had.

            “It’s quite alright, Princess! Are you heading towards the kitchen?” Coran chirped as he twisted his mustache between his fingers.

            “Yeah. I just don’t know where it is. This place is huge!” Allura lifted her arms up and spun in a circle, gesturing to the high ceilings that consumed most of the control center. Coran nodded his head in agreement with Allura’s statement.

            “Don’t you worry now! Follow me!” Coran placed his hands on Allura’s shoulders and steered her to the right down the long hallway to the end where he turned her left and she was right in front of the kitchen.

            “I think I’m going to need a map to figure out this place,” Allura mumbled as she walked to the fridge and pulled out a strawberry yogurt. She opened an adjacent drawer to find spoons and plucked one up to eat her food with.

            “Allura, there are a few things I need to discuss with you concerning going international with the other bases,” Coran leaned against the island that was situated in the middle of the kitchen with barstools on the other side. Allura hopped up on to the adjacent counter giving Coran a continue on motion. “We should put together some small teams to be in place at the various bases once we activate them. The other bases are hidden a lot better than this one is since they are but branches. If Altea was ever to get destroyed, then the other bases will start to shut down unless we select one to become the new Altea. Look in those other folders for those who can fill in the space we need in the other bases,” Coran smiled and laid a hand on Allura’s shoulder, “I believe in you, Princess.”

            Allura blinked back her tears. She needed to hear that simple statement. She jumped off the counter and brought Coran into a hug. Everything had changed quickly and suddenly. Her father? Gone. The spy agency? Chaos. Allura wouldn’t know how she would make it without Coran by her side.

            “Coran? Did the uh _other_ Coran happen to put in those calls I asked for?” Allura mumbled into Coran’s shoulder.

            “Surprisingly, he actually did. The only person he didn’t reach was, Garrett. He probably had a plan to intercept them before they got here and kill them off. They are the biggest threat to the Galra right now,” Coran said, rubbing soothing circles on Allura’s back.

            “We best prepare for their arrival.”


	6. Havana, Cuba → Base One: Altea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta get the hell outta Doge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol So I'm taking un poco break for this story just because I won't have time to keep up with the updates sorry
> 
> Next update: July 9th
> 
> sorrry

            Lance did not like this one bit. The outside of the Havana office looked dark and gloomy, not at all what the bright and still gloomy building usually is. Something is amidst and has been ever since he left _~~her~~ _ his home this morning. The air felt tense the closer he got to the office before suddenly he was grabbed and dragged to an alley nearby. The second time today that his guard has been down. Lance struggled to break out of his captor’s grip. He twisted and ducked managing to break free and twist around ready to beat the person to death only to be met with an identical set of blue eyes.

            “Veronica?” Lance whispered; eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why was she outside the office when she is normally inside? He looked behind her noticing Hunk, his best friend since childhood, and various other agents.

            “Thank god I caught you before you went inside,” Veronica brought Lance into a tight hug, shaking slightly in fear of losing him. 

            “Group hug!” Hunk whispered as he crashed into the two siblings for a hug. 

            “Hunk buddy, can’t breathe,” Lance said, patting hugs back as if he were tapping out of a wrestling match. Hunk squeezed tighter before letting Lance go.

            “Sorry. I was really worried about you. You could have been killed or worse imprisoned! Then we would have to go save you against the Galra and-” Hunk started to ramble, his hands flying all over the place.

            “Wait. Galra?” Lance cut Hunk off and bit his lip in worry, “The Galra are back?”

            “They never left, Lance,” Veronica chimed in from beside him. “They were just waiting for the ultimate time to strike. There are sleepers and non-sleepers everywhere in that office. We can’t go in there and expect to get out alive.”

            “Then why was I called in? To be killed? Why me of all people?” Lance ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He realized that they were still in the dark alleyway next to the building, “Why are we still standing here? Shouldn’t we be, I don’t know, _hiding_!” Lance threw his hands in the air before starting to walk out of the alley only to be grabbed by Hunk.

            “Because. We _need_ to go in there. Important files and what not. We need our eyes in the sky, _hermanito_ ,” Veronica hissed, pushing Lance into the brick wall. Lance held his hands up in a surrender position. 

            “Okay okay, _hermana_. What do you need me to do?” Lance crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. 

            “I need you to get to that high point over there with this rifle. It has a special setting to where you can track us when we are wearing these devices,” Veronica held up several small bracelet-like things. “It will also produce a 3D map of the area around each of us and will be displayed on the tablet. This will help you tell us whether or not someone is coming down the hall. We can easily avoid being detected by the enemy to sneak in and get the files. Hunk is going to have your six because I don’t want you to _die_ on me today. You’re not allowed to die or so help me I will drag you back to the land of the living just to kill you again. I’ll let you know when we have everything, copy?” Veronica said, eyes boring into Lance’s in worry and determination. She opened his hand and set a comm into it for them to keep in touch.

            “Rodger,” Lance gave Veronica a two-finger salute as two others brought over the rifle for Lance to grab while Hunk took hold of the tablet. 

            “Stay safe. _Te quiero_ ,” Veronica said as she gave Lance one last hug as her team readied themselves to move in.

            “ _Te quiero_ ,” Lance nodded before dashing across the street and starting to scale the side of the building as if he was _Spider-Man_. Hunk sighed before taking the more sensible route of using the stairs. He loved his best friend but sometimes he was a bit too dramatic. 

            “All set?” Lance mumbled as Hunk took up a position behind him. Lance used his scope to zoom into the Veronica crouching just in the shadows. 

            “Crystal with Teal and Maroon are ready to go on your mark, Blue,” Veronica’s voice crackled into the comms. Lance winced as a bit of feedback occurred before adjusting the comm to a better fit.

            “All clear to move,” Lance said, his eyes glancing at the tablet before him. They had about a ten-second window before enemy fighters would cross right in front of the door. Lance sighed in relief as the trio made their way into a hidden alcove, just out of sight of anyone passing by. 

            “Lance, try to get them to speed things up. I see company at your six about four clicks away,” Hunk said, his voice shaking slightly. Hunk had never really been in the field for missions. He was their tech guy, their behind the scenes guy. Hunk wasn’t prepared for this but he sure as hell won’t let his best friend get hurt. Not on his watch. 

            “Fuck. Okay, Cryealoon, yes, I combined your names, I need you to hurry up because we have company coming in four clicks. You’re currently free to move into the server room. You have eight seconds before they close in on your location,” Lance said, rapidly, his worry getting the best of him. He watched as the trio slowly made their way to the server room, “Come on, come on, come on.” 

            “Lance,” Hunk’s voice warned behind him. He took a deep breath, trying to keep the increasing panic at bay. Why didn’t he listen to his mama and go to acting school? He could have been saved from all this trouble and live his best life but instead, he decided to become a spy, _but at what cost_.

            “I hear you. Guys, you better scoot your asses because your location is being closed in on at a rapid pace. You need to leave in the next five seconds or your toast,” Lance’s eyes flickered from scope to tablet as he watched the figures move steadily closer. 

            “We need longer than five, Blue,” Veronica said, her breathing erratic. 

            “I’ll hold them off as long as I can. You two, get the data,” Maroon said before making a dash outside the door. Lance watched through the tablet as Maroon quickly ran around the corner and started shooting at the approaching enemies. He had led them away from the server room into what was a death trap for him. 

            “Shit,” was all that came from Hunk before he started to fire off gunshots. Their position was compromised.

            “Crys, we’re compromised. Abort mission now!” Lance yelled before swinging his rifle around and picking off the approaching targets in short succession. He had to count his shots, or he would run out of ammo quickly and that would not help anyone in this situation. 

            “Got the stuff. Maroon, can you make it out of there?” Teal said into the comms only to receive no response, “Maroon? Maroon? Mason? No.”

            “Teal don’t-” Veronica started to say before she was given the flash drive and pushed towards the planned exit. 

            “Crystal, get out of here,” came Teal’s harsh reply as he took down the hallway, heading towards Mason’s last position.

            “Ve-Crystal, please get out of there. Not sure how long we can hold them off up here,” Lance panted as he quickly put in his last mag, “I don’t have any more mags.”

            “Fine. The escape helicopter should be approaching your location soon. I’ll try to meet you there. Crystal, out,” Veronica said before she turned off her comms.

            “We’re escaping on a helicopter? How cliché is that,” Lance laughed as he lowered his gun when there was a small gap between waves of the enemy.

            “Pretty damn cliché. Isn’t it one of your favorites?” Hunk said backing up and checking to see how many bullets he has left in his gun. 

            “Yeah. Plus, when the hunter becomes the hunted and all that jazz. Wait. What about my baby Blue? I don’t want to abandon my car,” Lance bit his lip in worry. It was the last thing from _her_. 

            “Taken care of,” Veronica said as she leaped over the side of the building to join the two, unholstering her gun. 

            “You McClains and your dramatic flair,” Hunk muttered as he readied himself for the next onslaught of targets. Just then the loud sound of a helicopter echoed near them. The three of them watched as it flew around before hovering a few feet off the ground with a rope ladder hanging off the end. 

            “Hunk you go first,” Lance and Veronica said at the same time. Hunk just glanced between the two before nodding and climbing up the ladder. He sat down near the door so he can help them in. 

            “Veronica, you’re next,” Lance said while shoving her near the ladder as he hoisted his rifle up ready to lay down fire as the enemy started to climb up the building. Veronica quickly climbed up the ladder before turning around, sitting on top of the ladder and taking a rifle from aboard the helicopter to cover Lance as he made a dash for the ladder. He quickly scaled up the ladder and dove into the opening before pulling Veronica in with him. 

            “Go!” Hunk yelled at the pilot as they took off to who knows where as long as it was anywhere but there. The pilot quickly flew away as the bullets bounced off the outside and everyone let out a sigh of relief, except Lance. Veronica turned and looked at her brother only to see him gripping his shoulder as blood was staining his hand. 

            “We need a first aid kit, stat,” Veronica said as she rolled up her sleeves. She had Lance sit up as she checked to see if there was an exit wound. There was, which made her job easier. She took the rubbing alcohol and poured it quickly onto the wound to disinfect it. Lance hissed in pain and closed his eyes as small tears were falling. Veronica quickly wrapped bandages across his shoulder before pressing Lance’s own hand to help keep pressure on it. 

            “Where are we?” Lance asked as they landed on the taxiway where a small plane was waiting for them.

            “Airport. We have somewhere to be,” Veronica said, turning and heading for the craft. Hunk and Lance shrugged at each other, although the shrug was one armed from Lance, before following Veronica onto the plane. 

            “Where are we going?” Lance plopped into a seat next to Veronica.

            “Altea. Allura called, thank god I intercepted it because everything would have been ten times worse than it was. Well, not Allura, Coran called but I think he was speaking for Allura. Anyway, she’s putting together a team to take down the Galra and you are her first addition to the team,” Veronica said as she picked at her thumb. She hadn’t seen Allura in years. 

            “Oh. Will you be okay? Will, she let all of us in?” Lance placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

            “She will. I know she will,” Veronica pulled away and stared out the window as they were ready to take off. The plane speeds up before lifting off the ground heading north towards Altea. It would take a few hours to reach there but they would all get some much-needed rest. 

            Lance woke with a start when the plane touched down on what seemed to be an abandoned runway. He turned to Veronica to notice that she was staring straight ahead in determination.

            “I hope this Allura person likes me. What if she kills me on sight? What if she has giant hounds that will eat you on command? Oh! I could eat right now. I’m starving-” 

            “Hunk,” Lance said, snapping Hunk out of his rambling.

            “Sorry,” Hunk said sheepishly before walking down the aisle to get off the plane. Lance rolled his eyes before standing up and stretching, biting back a yelp of pain as he forgot about his shoulder. He followed Hunk down the stairs to the outside, only looking back to see if Veronica was following. When everyone made it out to the front, they noticed someone walking towards them. They all tensed; hands poised over their guns.

            “Easy. I’m Allura, the director here at Altea. You are all welcome inside to rest and eat,” Allura smiled, only stepping closer when everyone’s hands relaxed. 

            “I think I’m dead because there is an angel in front of me,” Lance said before groaning in pain and clutching his shoulder.

            “Serves you right,” Veronica mumbled next to him.

            “Vero?” Allura said, lifting her eyebrows in shock.

            “Hey, _Princesa_ ,” Veronica smiled as if it pained her. Lance looked between the two before it hit him. Oh shit, _Allura was Veronica’s ex_. 


	7. Saint-Denis, France → Base One: Altea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt and Pidge discover something interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said July 9th but plans change so uh here?
> 
> Also Matt is Pansexual goodnight

            “Wait let me get this straight. Ha. Me straight? You got a call from this dude in the agency and now you wanna skip town and go to wherever the fuck? No, absolutely not,” Matt crossed his arms as he glared down Pidge. 

            “You don’t get to make the choices here! I’m an adult I can take care of myself! Besides, we need to regroup from the utter fuckery that happened last night. Alfor is gone! Our agency is overrun by traitors and sleepers! We _have_ to go,” Pidge paced around the room, arms flying everywhere as she slowly became angrier at Matt for not listening to her.

            “We’re safer here. The agency has no data on us,” Matt said, standing in front of the door.

            “Alfor has data on us! What if someone took it?” Pidge said, narrowing her eyes. 

            “I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I?” Matt sighed before sitting on the floor and laying his head on the door. His eye was still covered up from the wound it received the previous night.

            “Nope. It’s a matter of whether you’re coming with me. I have to know if dad is okay,” Pidge walked over to the kitchen where a small window was held and looked out into the city around them. 

            “Okay. I get your point. When do we leave?” Matt said, wobbling as he stood not used to using only one eye. Pidge moved quickly to help balance him, so he didn’t completely topple over.

            “Tonight. Gives you time to adjust to one eye and for me to get us tickets out of here. I’m going to contact Shay and see if she can help,” Pidge walked over to her laptop and quickly started to type away, most likely hacking into an airport to “purchase” tickets. 

            Matt sighed and decided to walk around slowly to adjust to his new perspective. Hopefully, his eye will be better soon. If not, well he won’t ever see out of it again and that is almost as bad as dying. Matt never felt so hopeless without his sight. 

            “Shay can’t help us in person, but she did say that she can arrange for her brother, Rax, to help us get out,” Pidge looked up from her computer, glasses glinting slightly from the brightness of the screen.

            Matt realized just how _young_ his little sister looked. She was barely out of her teens and already she has gone through so much. He wished she would’ve just stayed in university and studied computer sciences or something because what their mom needed was three family members as spies. Matt had only joined up because he wanted to keep his father safe from harm and eventually replace him. Unfortunately, the two had gotten kidnapped on what was supposed to be an easy mission. Pidge didn’t take that well and decided to find them herself. When she brought them back to the agency, they automatically hired her on the spot. They couldn’t let that good of an agent go.

            “That’s better than nothing. You might need to have a disguise because the Sleepers and traitors will be looking for us and you have pretty long hair,” Matt said and started pacing in thought of how to disguise his sister. Unbeknownst to him, Pidge had frozen up when he mentioned her long hair. Her mind whirled with thought as she remembered it was her fault Matt’s eye got hurt in the first place.

            “Don’t worry about it. I have an idea,” Pidge said before resuming her typing. “Oh _shit_!” Pidge suddenly jumped up and ran to her room where she stashed the drive. 

            “What’s up?” Matt said, alarmed by the sudden turnabout that Pidge made.

            “Periwinkle! I shouted your name when I was grabbed. What if all the sleepers are connected? That means your _real_ name is given out. They could try and figure out your last name which means mom is in danger. How could I have been so stupid! We were on a mission. We agreed to never use our names on a mission. And I fucked that up big time! I’m so sorry,” Pidge said, pacing the living room while fiddling with the drive they had gotten the night before. 

            “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to. We were in a high-stress situation. It was only natural,” Matt said calmly, placing his hands on her shoulders to bring her to a standstill. 

            “It’s not okay! We need to warn mom and dad!” Pidge pulled herself from Matt’s grip, stumbling for the phone.

            “Katie. It’ll be okay. You’re overthinking,” Matt said, placing his hand down on the phone to prohibit Pidge from picking it up. 

            “I just want them to be safe,” Pidge cried out, tears rapidly falling down her face. She was so _young_. 

            “I know. I know. We can worry about them when we get to safety. Right now, let’s see what’s on that drive.”

            Pidge nodded in response before going to the burn laptop, this laptop was always wiped after every use to try and stop anything from being traced. She stuck the drive into the USB port and watched as the files loaded. There was a lot of files on this tiny drive. She waved Matt to come over before clicking on one file titled “Highway To Hell” and looked at the information that popped up. Her face paled as her eyes skimmed the information. _This was not good_. Matt then pointed to another file called “Stairway To Heaven” and Pidge opened it. Her face, if possible, paled even further. _This was really not good_.

            “Oh my god. We need to leave stat,” Matt said, before running to quickly pack up all of their stuff. This day just went from bad to worse. 

            “I’ll contact Shay and ask if Rax can meet us within the hour,” Pidge said, moving into motion and take the drive out of the laptop. She set the drive on the table next to her laptop so she wouldn’t forget it. The drive cannot go into the wrong hands. 

            “I hope he can because we’re so screwed!” Matt said as he threw things into suitcases before going over to the burn laptop and wiping it clean.

            “He can. Managed to wrangle someone to fly us where we need to go,” Pidge replied as she started to shut down her laptop and packed it. She remembered that she needed to fix her hair at risk of being caught. Pidge made her way to the bathroom and took out a pair of scissors to chop off her hair. When she came out of the bathroom, eyes red with tears, Matt smiled sadly at her and placed an old pair of his glasses on her.

            “Now we look like twins.” 

            An hour later the two siblings were in the back of Rax’s car on their way to a small regional airport. From there they were to fly to Heathrow airport in London. It would be easy to blend into the crowd there; however, they were not going to take a normal flight. They were changing to a better plane with a pilot that can take them to where they needed to go. 

            Once the two siblings had made their way to the plane in England, Pidge spotted a girl with dark blue hair blowing a bubble out of bubble gum while leaning against the wall. Pidge didn’t know why she was drawn to the girl but nothing good could come out of it. Matt pushed her forward to keep moving; they had a schedule to keep.

            After a long flight, with minimal turbulence, the two siblings stepped foot in Altea. They were greeted by Allura and one member that was to be on Pidge’s team. She stood and glanced him up and down wagering how dangerous it would be to be this man’s enemy.

            “Wow. You’re short. Like a pigeon,” the man replied with a small smile that made his blue eyes twinkle. Pidge glared, crossing her arms. Maybe he should worry about being on her bad side. Regardless, she was going to have fun here.


	8. San Francisco, United States → Base One: Altea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Broganes + Adam make their way to Altea with some bumps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehehe :)
> 
>  
> 
> Abby, Anna, Eileen pls don't kill me

            Keith fell asleep after he, Adam, and Shiro had some shots of whiskey last night in celebration of Shiro’s job offer. When he woke up on the couch he groaned as his sore muscles protested. This couch was uncomfortable to sleep on. 

            “ _Buenos días_ , Keith,” Adam said as he poked Keith on the cheek. Keith turned away in response with a huff. He really didn’t want to deal with this today. 

            “Let him sleep. He’s had a rough few days,” Shiro chimed in from the kitchen. Adam sighed and let Keith sleep as he made his way over to the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Shiro’s waist and laid his head on Shiro’s back. 

            “How long do you think it’s going to take him?” Adam’s question was muffled by the shirt Shiro was wearing. 

            “Hopefully not too much longer. I have a bet to win,” Shiro said, flipping a pancake over before he turned around to give Adam a kiss on his forehead. Adam smiled happily, as he gave Shiro a small peck on his neck. The two always knew what the other needed. Adam’s _abuela_ used to say that those who matched each other were soulmates. He didn’t quite believe her when he was younger, but now he understood her perfectly.

            “Doubt you’re going to win, Taka _shit_ ,” Adam teased, letting go of Shiro and heading to the fridge to grab a glass of orange juice. He slowly sipped the tangy drink as he sat down on the breakfast bar. 

            “I’m leaving tonight, by the way,” Shiro said as he put another pancake in the pan. Adam choked on his drink.

            “Takashi. What do you mean you’re leaving tonight? I thought we would have some time to find a new place before you had to start. Was your plan to sneak out and leave me behind? You can’t do that to me _again_!” Adam huffed as he slammed his glass down on the counter, shattering it to pieces. His hands were shaking with anger. Shiro turned around and stared at Adam with his mouth open in shock.

            “Adam-”

            “Don’t. Don’t Adam me! You can’t always be the fucking hero every time! Every time you go out there to help people, I worry. I worry so much because one day you’re going to be gone and there will be nothing I can do about it. When you went missing back when we were both still pilots, I was practically drunk all the time. I never got the chance to tell you I love you before you were gone! So, you dropping this on me? It really hurts. After all, we’ve been through, you’re abandoning me, again. I thought we were in this together. I thought we talked about communicating with each other. Where has that trust gone, _Takashi_?” Adam’s eyes welled up with tears as he back away from Shiro’s outstretched arm. He couldn’t believe Shiro was going to up and leave him. 

            “Adam, please-”

            “Am I interrupting something?” Keith sleepily said as he walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. He froze as he saw the tears slipping down both Adam and Shiro’s faces as the pancake started burning behind them.

            “Keith. Right on time,” Adam said, brushing past Keith in his rush to get out of the stifling room. Keith blinked before turning back to Shiro and lifting an eyebrow.

            “Uh. The pancake is burning,” Keith said as he watched smoke starting to rise from the pan.

            “ _Shit_ ,” Shiro yelled as he grabbed the pan and shoved it under the running tap. He sighed as he leaned heavily against the counter, shoulders shaking as he breathed heavily, trying to stop the flow of tears. 

            “Takashi?” Keith said as he made his way over to Shiro to attempt to comfort him.

            “Don’t call me that,” Shiro growled as he whipped around and missed hitting Keith. He froze as his face widened in horror at what he had done.

            “Shiro? Are you okay?” Keith said tentatively, placing a hand on Shiro’s shoulder.

            “I. I don’t know. Adam. He,” Shiro choked on a sob as he covered his mouth. Adam had been around Shiro for as long as he could remember. They were on the same squad when they were cadets learning how to fly fighter jets. Adam was there when his parents died, comforting him as he cried into his shoulder. His life revolved around Adam. To take him away would be the first step in the downfall of Shiro. 

            “He what?” Keith stepped closer; concern laced in his eyes. He hated how he never learned how to comfort people correctly, even if Shiro told him he was doing okay. 

            “He _hates_ me,” Shiro whispered before hugging Keith tightly as he continued sobbing.

            “I doubt that. You should talk to him,” Keith rubbed soothing circles into Shiro’s back like he used to do when Keith was younger. 

            “I don’t hate you. I’m just frustrated at you,” Adam said as he came out from behind the wall he was eavesdropping behind. His face wore a look of utter despair. 

            “But I thought,” Shiro mumbled as he looked up at Adam, eyes showing heartbreak.

            Adam took a deep breath in. He couldn’t believe he had hurt Shiro. _It wasn’t his mission_. Adam looked down at the ground as he said, “I could _never_ hate you, Takashi. I love you, so, so much.”

            “Holy shit,” Keith whispered as he looked between the two slowly realizing the two were already dating. He didn’t think he could be that oblivious to social interactions like Shiro has stated before.

            “Adam,” Shiro said softly, breaking away from his hug with Keith, he walked over to Adam and took his hands, holding them tightly as he stared Adam in the eye.

            “Takashi,” Adam said with a small smile on his face.

            “Will you go with us to my new job?” Shiro smirked slightly as he remembered the ring he had hidden in his room. One day he’ll get the guts to ask Adam to marry him. Maybe he’ll ask him after they get settled in at the base. Shiro also hoped they wouldn’t mind him bringing someone extra along to Altea. 

            “Thanks for asking me instead of _leaving_ without telling me. My answer is maybe,” Adam sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. He really couldn’t afford to up and leave without notice to anyone. 

            “Sorry. I never realized how much me leaving hurt you,” Shiro rested his forehead on Adam’s after asking with his eyes if it was okay. The two stared at each other before both breaking out in hesitant smiles. They both burst into laughter, hanging onto each other. 

            “That’s it? You two just laugh off a serious argument like it’s nothing!” Keith said, breaking up the laughter. He stared at the two in disbelief as he had never seen something so serious fixed so quickly. 

            “Not really. We’re going to discuss it at length later. Right now, it’s better to not be angry,” Adam said as he held Shiro’s hand and dragged him over to the barstools that resided next to the breakfast counter. 

            “Shiro, we leave for the place at one,” Keith said as he crossed his arms, still not quite getting the entire situation, “Also, when did you two start dating?”

            “Ha! Pay up, sweetheart,” Shiro stuck his tongue out at Adam like a _mature_ adult.

            “Wait, wait. Go back to the _leaving at one_ ,” Adam poked Shiro’s cheek as he narrowed his eyes.

            “We have to leave at one, so we don’t get there so late,” Keith shrugged as he walked over to the abandoned plate of pancakes and picked one up, eating it with his hands.

            “Yeah. I forgot about that,” Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck as his face flushed red in embarrassment. 

            “Alright. Guess I’m in on your trip,” Adam sighed as he got up, “We best get packing.” 

            After several hours of packing and banter, the trio made their way to the airport to catch their flight to Altea. Keith grumbled the entire time, realizing they have to change time zones. He hated having to reset his body’s clock every time he flew somewhere. 

            As they lined up to board the plane, a girl with a high ponytail and bright orange hair ran into Adam and winked at him before pushing on. He stared back at her in confusion while discreetly slipping what she gave him into his pocket. Adam turned back around to watch as the line had not moved an inch when he wasn’t looking. This was going to be a long flight. Shiro smiled at him and took his free hand as the inched their way to the front, glaring at anyone who dared cut the line. 

            Once boarded, they each settled in their seats for the long flight, hoping to get some rest. The flight went smoothly except for the wailing baby about three rows back. After the trio grabbed their luggage from baggage claim and made it through customs, they looked for a sign that indicated their ride to the base. Keith spotted a man with a bushy mustache holding up a sign that just said the word “Voltron.” He pointed it out to Shiro, and he nodded, leading the other two over there.

            “Ah! You must be Shirogane and Kogane. Who might you be?” Coran said as he looked over at Adam.

            “A tag-a-long,” Adam awkwardly smiled. 

            “Excellent! The more the merrier,” Coran said before leading the group over to an unmarked van gesturing for them to hop in. 

            An hour later they found themselves pulling into the garage where a group of people had gathered to wait for their arrival. 

            Keith stepped out of the van only to be shoved roughly against it from a blur of brown hair and bright blue eyes.

            “You are so dead, motherfucker,” the man growled as his grip tightened on Keith’s shirt.

            Keith gulped as he replied, “What are you talking about? Who are you?”

            “What am I talking about! My name is Lance McClain _and you killed my girlfriend_. Prepare to die.”


	9. Base One: Altea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk has the braincell 90% of the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is late. M'bad
> 
> Anyway I'll be posting chapter 10 next tuesday (July 16) since Friday I'm going to be busy!!

            Keith blinked at Lance in confusion, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “You know damn well what you did, asshole. I’d recognize that hair anywhere!” Lance shoved Keith again against the wall again as if the force will make Keith spill.

            “Woah, woah. Okay let’s take a breather here,” Hunk said as he pulled Lance away from Keith. Lance struggled to break out of Hunk’s strong grip, but it was pointless. He pouted as he resigned himself to being manhandled by his best friend.

            “Thanks, uh.”

            “Name’s Hunk. Just Hunk,” he smiled as he moved back over to the large group of people who were still standing, some with their jaws slacked open.

            “Well, that was not how I imagined this going. I’m Allura, the director here at Altea and the entire operation. I will work closely with those of you in Voltron,” Allura elegantly said as a means to resolve the growing tension. She glanced between Lance and Keith before sighing, “Let’s get you settled in and figure out whatever just happened.” Allura turned on her heel and walked away leaving the rest of the crew to follow her, although Hunk was still holding onto Lance just in case he lashed out again. 

            Shiro shared a glance with Adam before shrugging and grabbing his luggage to follow the crowd.

            “Come along now. You three have had a long flight,” Coran said as he waved the trio to follow him to their rooms. Their eyes widened in awe at the sophistication of Altea.

            “What is this place?” Adam asked, eyes darting around, trying to take in all the sights the building had to offer. In all of his life, he had never had a spy agency looks so _nice_. Most of the one he had been in were dull and scrappy. He hardly remembered a time he wasn’t in one. 

            “This is our Home base, also known as Base One: Altea,” Coran replied as they turned a corner to a long hallway that had multiple doors on either side. He led them only a few doors down and opened two of the doors, “Here are your rooms. I figured, what’s your name?” Coran pointed at Adam.

            “Adam,” he replied shortly, finger tapping his leg as if he was worried about being found out by someone.

            “Okay! Adam and Shiro, I figured you two would want to share a room since you seem very close. Keith, this room is yours. Here are your keys specially made for your DNA once you touch them. My grandfather actually had started developing these when I was young-”

            “Thank you, uh,” Adam interrupted forgetting Coran’s name.

            “Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe.”

            “Okay. Coran but we’re tired and would like to get rest,” Adam smiled before starting to enter the room.

            “Not so fast. You three still have a bit of a night. We have a meeting starting in the next thirty minutes and you all have to attend. I’ll be right here waiting for you in twenty. Plenty of time to start settling in!” Coran said before turning and walking down the hall. 

            “See you lovebirds in a few,” Keith said making his way into his room, slamming the door behind him.

            “After you, sweetheart,” Shiro gestured Adam into their room.

* * *

            “I’m going to murder that _hijo de puta_ with my _manos_ and he’s going to wish he was never, shit what’s the word!” Lance started to snap his fingers in the middle of his rant trying to find the word he was looking for.

            “Born?” Hunk asked, doing his best to help out his best friend.

            “No. Wait. Yes? Maybe? Gah! I’m so _angry_! How dare he deny that he killed her. It’s not fair,” Lance slammed his hands on the table taking deep breaths as his eyes burned with unshed tears. 

            “Buddy. At least hear him out first. Maybe there is someone who looked similar to him? Think about it. We’re all going to have to work as a team,” Hunk said, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

            “Ow. Wrong shoulder,” Lance hissed, while Hunk lifted his hand off and spouted apologies. Lance closed his eyes from the pain. 

            “It’s time for another dose anyway,” Veronica said, placing a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water down in front of Lance. He smiled gratefully before downing the medicine.

            “I don’t know about you guys but something about that one guy with the brown hair seems off. I also feel like I’ve seen his face somewhere, but I can’t remember where and it’s bothering me!” Pidge said, slumping in her chair she took when Lance first started his rant. 

            “He seems close with the tall guy, but I have to agree I feel like I saw his face somewhere. Maybe he was an agent that switched between bases all the time?” Matt said, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back in his chair, dangerously close to tipping over. 

            “I’m not quite sure about that. I’ve never seen anyone remotely like him in all my times going between all of the old bases. Nonetheless, we need to start planning for our first mission. Unlock base two and swipe some information from the Galra,” Allura said, sitting at the head of the meeting table, hands clasped together, resting on top of the surface.

            “I’m going to go make a quick snack for everyone. I’ll be back before the meeting starts,” Hunk said, patting Lance on his good shoulder and making his way to the kitchen. 

            Lance huffed as he finally sat down. He was probably going to be benched until his shoulder was better. He couldn’t do anything with his shoulder injury and it probably wasn’t the best idea to aggravate it when he picked up the guy with the mullet for hair. He really needed to learn their names, so he doesn’t have to keep calling them the guy with so-and-so physical feature. Lance was also surprised in a sense that Veronica wasn’t forcing him to put the sling back on.

            “Oh Lance,” Veronica said, before flinging his sling at his head, “Put this back on you, _idiota_.”

            “Do I have to?” Lance groaned. He really didn’t want to put the sling back on and seem _weak_ in front of the newcomers.

            “Yes, if you want to get back to shooting your rifle ASAP,” Veronica crossed her arms and lifted a brow, leaving no room for argument. Lance loved his sister, he really did, but sometimes he didn’t want to do everything the doctor would say.

            “Fine,” Lance said, struggling to put the sling back on by himself. After struggling for a few minutes, Allura sighed before getting up and helping him put it on correctly. He smiled back at her in thanks.

            The minutes seemed to tick by at a snail’s pace as they waited for Hunk, Coran, Shiro, Adam, and Keith to arrive for the meeting to begin. Hunk was the first to arrive carrying a tray of healthy snacks for everyone to enjoy. Coran with Shiro, Adam, and Keith, came in right on time.

            “Now that everyone is here, we can start the meeting. I know everyone in this room doesn’t know each other all that well, but each of you were selected for a reason and that reason is Voltron. You may be asking yourself what Voltron is. Well, it is you guys. Voltron is a select group of talented individuals to carry out the most dangerous missions involving defeating any evil that comes to light. Right now, our main problem is the Galra. In order for us to have a nicely flowing organization, we must activate the other bases. Each of these bases is crucial to keeping the peace. 

            “My father,” Allura choked up a bit before taking a deep breath to compose herself, “My father was the first to form Voltron with his closest allies. He believed that they all could create peace for the entire globe. What he failed to realize was that his best friend, Zarkon, was becoming increasingly power hungry until it cost him his life. I hope that will not happen here.

            “Let’s start discussing this first mission, but first, everyone go around and introduce yourself along with your code name. Your code name will no longer be needed. I will go first. I am Allura, and my code name was Pink,” Allura smiled as she leaned back in her chair.

            “I’m Veronica. My code name was Crystal.”

            “Name’s Lance. Code name: Blue.”

            “Hi, I’m Hunk. My code name was Yellow.”

            “Keith. Red Shadow,” Keith grunted, arms crossed as he glared at Lance. Lance glared right back with a lift of an eyebrow as if to say come at me.

            “My name is Shiro. Winter, they called me on missions deep in enemy territory,” Shiro smiled, relaxing into his chair. He was worried he wouldn’t find out everyone’s names.

            “Adam. Code name, Silent.”

            “Call me Pidge. Code name was Green,” Pidge lifted her glasses in a mocking kind of salute. 

            “Matt here. Burn was the code,” Matt tried to lift the growing tension between Keith and Lance only for it to be in vain.

            “That leaves me! Coran and my wonderful code name was Gorgeous Man,” Coran stuck his chest out in pride, twisting his mustache slightly. 

            “Great! Time for the first mission. Unlocking base two and recon. Three of you will be in the main part of this mission. I’ve selected Keith, Lance, and Shiro to be those three. Are there any objections?” Allura lifted her eyebrow before the room broke into utter chaos with everyone expressing their opinions (Pidge, Matt, Veronica, and Adam), demanding that they work with someone else (Keith and Lance), or trying to calm them down (Shiro, Coran, and Hunk). Allura grew increasingly angry as the arguing continued. 

            “Enough! This is the best option based on each of your records. We have a week to prepare. Start getting over your differences before then,” Allura got up and slammed the door on her way out leaving the room in utter silence.


	10. Base One: Altea, Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things never seem to go well for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I'm sorry but I'm probably gonna start only update on fridays cause I suck

            The next morning brought tension throughout the entire group. Nothing had been resolved the night before due to Lance refusing to listen to Keith. Hunk shook his head in disappointment as Lance said he would hear Keith out. Maybe he was too distraught over _watching_ his, now dead, girlfriend be stabbed.

            “Training is in one hour. Don’t be late,” Allura’s voice echoed throughout the base. It was too early for training, but the team learned not to argue with Allura for fear of ass-kicking. Hunk stretched and popped his back before starting to cook breakfast for the entire team. The only ones keeping him company right now were the zombified Adam, who was nursing a fresh cup of coffee, and Shiro, who was laying on Adam’s lap trying to catch a few more z’s. 

            Hunk sighed before whisking the eggs he just cracked, “So. What’s up?” Hunk was not one for excellent small talk, that was more of Lance’s expertise. 

            “Just waiting for the sweet release of death to embody my soul so I can finally rest,” Shiro mumbled in reply as Adam just groaned in exhaustion. Hunk just stared at the two, mouth agape with worry.

            “Uh. What?”

            “We didn’t get a lot of sleep last night due to-” Shiro started to say before Hunk interrupted.

            “Woah. Lalalala. I don’t want to _hear_ anything about your sex life. Nope, no way. Talk to Lance for that,” Hunk set the bowl down as he covered his ears, flinging a bit of yolk into his hair from the whisk still in his hand. Adam choked on his coffee as Shiro’s face blossomed into a tomato color. 

            “Oh no. No. I wasn’t- I wasn’t talking about _that_. Good god, no. Jesus. It was more of Keith complaining how Lance wouldn’t give him a chance to explain himself. We would never- who knows how thin the walls are here,” Shiro stumbled through his words, his blush increasing.

            “Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I just am so used to Lance talking about his sex life that I just assumed… Sorry,” Hunk smiled awkwardly before turning back to making eggs.

            “It’s okay, Hunk, right?” Adam waited to see Hunk nod before continuing, “We all are starting to learn about each other so of course you’re gonna make assumptions. But before careful, you know what they say about assuming? It makes an ass out of you and me,” Adam smiled before taking another sip of his lukewarm coffee. Hunk snorted as he moved on to putting bread in the toaster. Shiro grumbled as he sat up getting ready to help Hunk set the table. 

            “Hopefully everyone gets here soon, or they won’t have enough time to eat,” Shiro said as he started setting forks and knives on the table, used to the task when he was growing up. 

            “Yeah. I should probably wake up Lance. He’ll sleep like the dead if no one wakes him up. Plus, he needs to take some painkillers anyway and change his dressing,” Hunk got up, leaving the eggs on a food warmer making his way to Lance’s room to wake him. 

            He hummed as he tapped on Lance’s door. Hunk sighed and pressed his ear to the door listening for a sound out of his best friend when Lance did not answer. All he heard was a distinct choking noise of someone trying to hide a sob from anyone listening. Hunk frowned as he rested his hand on the doorknob, hoping Lance locked the door like a sane person in a building with unknown people. He twisted and groaned slightly to find it unlocked, not that he wasn’t happy he could get to Lance faster but come on they need to be safe here. Hunk still hadn’t figured out who to trust yet.

            “Lance?” Hunk whispered as he opened the door only to be consumed by darkness. His heart sank as he turned the light on to see Lance as a disheveled mess. The normal face mask he would wear at night was scratched as if Lance had been trying to scratch his eyeballs out; his hair was sticking up in so many places that it made him look like a character out of _Kingdom Hearts_. Lance’s eyes were covered in bright red from crying and he hissed as the light hit him. 

            “Oh, Lance. Buddy,” Hunk whispered as he sat down on Lance’s bed, opening an arm from a hug. Lance was definitely not okay no matter what his bravado emanated. Lance crashed into Hunk’s side letting out a harsh sob as he clung on tightly. Hunk rubbed soothing circles on Lance’s back telling him to let it all out. Suddenly, there was another shadow in the doorway. 

            “Oh, _Lance_ ,” Veronica whispered as she walked into the room and sat on Lance’s other side, hugging him tightly, mumbling _I love you_ s and _it’ll take time_ s in Spanish. Lance’s breath hitched as he started another round of sobbing. Time passed slowly for the trio until Allura spoke on the intercom.

            “Five minutes until training begins!”

            “You guys should go. Don’t worry about me. I can’t participate anyway,” Lance smiled at them with a watery smile. Hunk and Veronica shared a glance before sighing. 

            “We’re going to worry anyway. You’re my little bro,” Veronica said, punching Lance’s good arm with a small smile before pulling him into a tight hug as if he was going to disappear. She ruffled his hair before getting up and making her way out to prepare for training. 

            “You know me. I’m always worrying. Promise me you’ll at least show up to watch us? And to hear Keith out?” Hunk gave Lance a version of puppy dog eyes, hoping that would help with Lance’s decision.

            “I’ll think about it. Could you help me with my bandages before you leave? I can’t quite do them myself,” Lance sheepishly smiled, taking his good hand and rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had when he felt embarrassed. 

            “Of course. I’m sure Allura wouldn’t mind if I was late,” Hunk said as he started to unwrap the gauze that was around Lance’s shoulder. He hummed as he carefully started to wrap the new gauze around the injury. He patted Lance’s head before setting out two painkillers. They didn’t trust Lance to take them by himself because he’s emotionally compromised. 

* * *

            “Where have you been?” Allura crossed her arms as Hunk entered the training room. He froze as he saw everyone looking at him.

            “I was helping Lance,” Hunk said as he watched Allura’s eyes narrow. She was scary when she was pissed off at you. 

            “Oh. How is he?” Allura faltered in her glare, hands interlocking together as she felt no control in the situation. 

            “He’s,” Hunk paused and bit his lip trying to come up with the word, “okay. Could be better.”

            Allura nodded as she turned to face everyone else to start assigning them roles to work on. They needed to be in top shape just in case something happens to the base. Keith and Pidge were working on hand to hand combat while Adam and Shiro were working on shooting. Veronica, Matt, and Hunk were working with Allura on how to scale a wall in a timely manner. There were other people in the base, like the pilot that flew Hunk, Lance, and Veronica from Cuba, but they had their schedules of daily jobs to do. Those directly connected to Voltron have a flimsier schedule. 

            “What’s up party people,” Lance said as he walked into the room, glancing in awe of the target range. His eyes lit up before dimming as he looked at his shoulder. Unfortunately, he wasn’t standing for long. He was knocked over by Pidge, who was pushed by Keith and landed on his bad shoulder. He let out a hiss as Pidge started to apologize.

            “Should’ve watched where you were standing, asshole,” Keith grumbled out at Lance as he helped Pidge up, who in turn help Lance up,

            “What is your problem, man!” Lance yelled at Keith.

            “My _problem_? My PROBLEM! More like what’s your _problem_. All you’ve done since I have been here was accuse me of a crime I didn’t do, never once giving me a chance to speak about it. God why are you even here if you’re so _worthless_ ,” Keith huffed before shoving past Lance and walking through the door.

            Lance stared in shock at the door before mumbling, “Yeah. I know.”


	11. Base One: Altea → Rome, Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They hAve a Bonding Moment™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE NO IMPULSE CONTROL BUT LIKE ALSO THIS IS FOR NOT UPLOADING ON TUESDAY

            It had been a long week for each of the members of Voltron as they were pushed and tested to their limits, all except Lance. However, Veronica promised Lance would be in tip-top shape for the upcoming mission. The team gathered back in the meeting room where they first introduced themselves to learn their roles in the mission scheduled for tomorrow.

            “I hope you all have started to form bonds with each other because that will be vital to ensure we each _trust_ each other to help each mission run smoothly. Now I know we haven’t had long to build these bonds, but this mission is becoming time-sensitive. It must be done. Pidge, Matt you two will be our hackers. Make sure Lance gets into the hotel and has funds. Hunk, Adam, Veronica, you three will be our eyes. Take shifts to make sure no one catches Keith and Lance off guard. Shiro, you will be our pilot and driver for Keith and Lance. Make sure they get to their destinations safely. Keith, you’re Lance’s bodyguard. Stick close and don’t let anyone but the target enter the room. Lance, you’re a billionaire's son. Use the name: Antonio Moretti. You speak Italian, right?” Allura lifted her brow in question at Lance. 

            “Si, signorina,” Lance replied with a bored tone, hand pressed against his cheek. His face looked less sickly than it had at the beginning of the week. Veronica slapped the back of Lance’s head with a small scowl. “What the hell, Ronica!”

            “Don’t be a smartass,” Veronica rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Lance pouted before pushing Veronica’s chair over, causing her to fall.

            “Lance!” Allura yelled, crossing her arms in disappointment. Lance glared at Allura before standing up, shoving his chair to the floor. 

            “She started it!”

            “And I’m ending it. Sit down, agent and listen to the plan. Or will I have to bench you and send Keith in your place and Adam in his?” Allura hardened her glare, challenging Lance to protest, knowing he was starting to get stir crazy.

            “No, ma’am,” Lance mumbled as he sat back down in his seat. The rest of the team stared at him in shock.

            “Now. Once you make contact with the target and retrieve any info you can, unlock base two. Like how this is Altea, base two is called Terra. I will tell Keith, Lance, and Shiro where to find this base as they’ll be the ones to unlock it. Now, get a good night’s rest. We start at 0600. Don’t be late,” Allura nodded before watching everyone else exit the room before losing her composer. How her father did this she will never know; however, she will not lead like her father. She will lead in her own way and pray for the best.

* * *

            “You be safe now, okay? Call me when the mission is over, and no one tapped your phone. You got your rifle? Your painkillers? Your handgun? Your-” 

            “Ronnie,” Lance interrupted his sister’s fretted to make sure he has everything, “I’ll be okay. It’s just like the dozens of other missions I’ve been on. I come back fine!”

            “But you almost didn’t once, and I was scared! I just worry about you. You’re my baby brother,” Veronica said pulling Lance into a hug. Lance sighed and hugged her back. He remembered the mission she was talking about. He was in a medically induced coma because of the severity of his injuries. 

            “I promise to call you as soon as I can, okay? _Te quiero_ ,” Lance said before making his way over to Hunk giving him a giant hug. 

            “You two be careful. Don’t get stabbed. Be the stabber,” Adam said as he pulled both Shiro and Keith into a hug before giving Shiro a small peck on the cheek. 

            “Love you, sweetheart,” Shiro smiled as Keith pretended to gag next to them. Shiro pulled Keith into a headlock as he gave a noogie. 

            Once Shiro released Keith from the headlock, Adam pulled him close and placed his forehead with Shiro’s. “I love you to the moon,” Adam started.

            “And back. Forever,” Shiro finished, giving Adam one last kiss on his lips. The two smiled at each other as everyone else was saying their good lucks and goodbyes around them. It was only them in this world. They revolved around each other, keeping their orbits close as they could _never_ be broken. 

            “It’s time to go,” Keith broke the bliss that surrounding the lovebirds. Shiro and Adam shared one last look before Shiro turned to the plane that was waiting for him to fly to Italy. He looked back at Adam, who continued to smile and wave as the plane took off and left.

* * *

            Keith and Lance glared at each other as they sat across from each other on the plane. Although Shiro was piloting, his co-pilot was an A.I. built specifically for long flights giving the pilot rest. Shiro just shook his head at the two as he made his way back into the cockpit after taking a snack break as it would be nighttime when they land in Rome. He hoped the two would sort out their differences before they land but that was like saying pigs can fly.

            Lance sighed as he broke eye contact, “Okay. I probably should’ve done this earlier but I kinda promised Hunk that I’d hear you out so, I guess. Did you kill my girlfriend?” Lance crossed his arms as he looked away trying to hide his tears. It still hurts to think of her, of course, it had only been a week. He couldn’t get over her in a week. There was no way that was possible. He hoped he would numb himself to the pain, but alas, that was futile. 

            “No. What makes you think I did?” Keith said, his eyebrow lifted in question. 

            Lance fiddled with his sleeves as he thought carefully about what he was going to say. He didn’t want to make the rocky relationship the two already had _worse_. “Your hair. It looks exactly like the murder’s hair. Same stupid mullet,” Lance squeeze his wrist as the image of Plax flashed before his eyes. He withheld a sob from escaping. _Don’t look weak, don’t look week, don’t look weak, don’tlookweak, don’tlookweak._

            “My hair is _not_ a mullet! Besides, I have never been to wherever you’re from,” Keith huffed as he turned to look out the window. Lance sniffled slightly as he let a tear fall down. Keith whipped his head around to watch as Lance wiped his ever-increasing tears away.

            “I’m sorry. I was such a dick,” Lance bit back another sob as he slowly started to breakdown. 

            “Woah. Hey, uh, don’t cry. It’s okay. You’re traumatized from the event. Of course, anyone looking remotely similar to the killer would set you off,” Keith said as he unbuckled and moved closer to Lance, setting a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comfort. It wasn’t his strong suit, but he was willing to try for the broken man in front of him. Lance leaned forward, seat belt already off as he felt restrained with it on, and collapsed in Keith’s arms, seeking out a hug. Keith carefully wrapped his arms around the Cuban, whispering soft reassurances. 

            “She was pregnant,” Lance whispered out between his harsh inhales. Keith froze before leaning away from Lance and staring him directly in the eyes.

            “Holy shit. I am sorry. We will find the bastard, alright?” Keith promised causing Lance to have a small smile of gratitude. The two had a long way to go to fully trust each other but sometimes all it takes is sobbing in your nemeses-turned-kinda friend to start a tentative friendship. 

            “Hey, guys. We’re gonna land soon so start getting dressed and buckle in,” Shiro said over the intercom. Keith sighed and patted Lance’s back before standing up, holding a hand out for Lance to take. 

            “Time to get cleaned up, Sharpshooter,” Keith smiled as Lance gave a small smile in return.


	12. Rome, Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploads are whenever I feel now because I can't stick to a schedule smh

            Lance stepped off the plane, oozing confidence as if the tears he had shed earlier were no existent. His hair blew slightly in the breeze as he crossed the airport to a big black SUV with blacked-out windows. How obvious can one get on the suspicious level? Before he could open the door himself, Keith wrenched it open to let Lance inside.

            “What are you doing?” Lance hissed at Keith as he slid carefully into the seat, the darkness hiding the beginnings of a blush. He was embarrassed to have someone else open a door for him.

            “Opening the door for you. Remember, you’re important,” Keith gritted out as he gave a quick scan around before following Lance into the back seat.

            “Not what you said the other day,” Lance mumbled and crossed his arms as he watched Shiro slide into the front seat. He was almost glad there was a pane of glass separating them from Shiro as Lance could feel the growing tension between him and Keith.

            “What did you say?” Keith narrowed his eyes at Lance. Despite the two semi-bonding on the plane they still have yet to trust each other. 

            “Nothing,” Lance snapped at Keith as they passed the gates leading out of the airport. 

            “Didn’t sound like nothing to me. Sounded like someone whining,” Keith attempted a tease trying to get Lance to open up even though he was growing angrier by the minute.

            “I was not whining! But of course, you would think that, Mr. I-Don’t-Give-A-Shit-About-Anyone. God, just leave me alone,” Lance growled as he turned his body away in a sense of protection. What he was protecting himself from, he didn’t know.

            “What makes you think that? Of course, I give a shit! You don’t know who I am nor what I’ve been through!” Keith slammed his hand against the window in a frustrated manner. Lance jumped back at the sudden bang, frightened at how fast Keith lost his temper.

            “You’re making everything about yourself-”

            “Me? _I’m_ the one making everything about myself? Look who’s talking, hypocrite!”

            “Why do you hate me so much?” Lance pushed Keith roughly as if the two were toddlers fighting over the same toy. 

            “I don’t- I don’t _hate_ you. If anything, you hate me! You accuse me of murder, which we have established I _didn’t_ do. You start yelling at me out of nowhere when I’m trying to express concern for a colleague. Do I need to go on?” Keith pointed at his fingers, suggesting he had more points to make.

            “WELL AT LEAST I DIDN’T CALL YOU WORTHLESS,” Lance screamed, eyes ablaze in fury as Keith recoiled back from the loudness. 

            “So, this is what it’s about. Look, I’m sorry. I was angry at you for what you did when we didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves. Can we start again?” Keith held his hand out as a sort of truce.

            Lance stared at the outstretched hand before looking at Keith’s eyes. He looked for any trace of malicious intent and sighed knowing Keith was sincere. He grasped Keith’s hand and shook it firmly in conformation. They gave each other a tentative smile before turning and facing their respective window.

* * *

 

            They arrived at the glamourous hotel that their target was staying out for a gala that was hosted every year for the rich. Lance sighed as he fiddled with the watch that was on his wrist. The watch also doubled as a tracker just in case something went wrong, which Lance hoped nothing did. Keith shivered slightly as the trio entered the foyer as the icy stares of the upper class embedded themselves on the back of his head. Shiro was carrying all of their luggage and keeping a neutral face, but Keith could tell he was uncomfortable with all the stares. 

            Lance sauntered up to the check-in and spoke in perfect Italian, “ _Hello, beautiful. I would like to check into my room, and maybe check you out_.” He winked flirtatiously as the girl giggled back, twisting her already curled hair.

            “ _That sounds lovely, Mr.?_ ”

            “ _Moretti_ ,” Lance replied with a smirk and a kiss to her hand. For a fraction of a second, her eyes showed disgust before softening out into someone who was smitten. She smiled back, typing in Lance’s alias into the computer.

            “ _All set, Mr. Moretti. Hope you enjoy your stay here! Oh and here is something for you,_ ” she winked before sliding a piece of paper over with a number written on it with the key to his room.

            “ _Thank you, beautiful,_ ” he slid the paper in his hands before walking to the steps, waving for Shiro and Keith to follow him. He glanced at the key to double-check the room number before heading up the stairs.

            “What did you guys talk about?” Shiro asked, trying to break the silence. He shifted slightly as the bags were starting to get heavy.

            “Nothing much. Just trying to make my reputation seem like I am a player who will flirt with anything. The girl even gave me her number,” Lance sighed as he stopped in front of their room: 420. 

            You mean you’re not a player, already?” Keith teased as Lance opened the door. Lance glared at him and Keith raised his hands in surrender, “Hey man. It’s the aura you give off.”

            “Yeah. I was never a player. God, I miss her. This mission is reminding me of the first one I had with her,” Lance looked down at the floor as he walked in and collapsed on the couch.

            “Oh,” Keith said before turning to Shiro with a look that screamed _help me_. Shiro just stuck his tongue out before setting the luggage on the floor. Keith huffed as he sat down on one of the chairs in the room. 

            “I’m going to go check out the rooms. You two behave,” Shiro walked into the room on the left, leaving the other two alone.

            “Do you know Italian?” Lance asked, twiddling with his thumbs. He glanced around, avoiding looking Keith in the eyes.

            “Not really. Should I?” Keith closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair. It wasn’t that late back in Canada but with all the traveling and emotional waves, it was time to sleep.

            “Probably some basic phrases because why would an Italian billionaire higher someone who doesn’t speak his language. It only increases suspicion. I’ll teach you some phrases in the morning? I’m kinda beat,” Lance stretched his arms above his head with a groan before standing up and heading to the remaining door. 

            “Yeah. That sounds great. I’m going to room with Shiro,” Keith said, jerking his thumb at the other door.

            “Goodnight, dude.”

            “Never call me that again,” Keith hissed as he went into the room Shiro was currently sleeping in only to discover one bed that was only an XL twin. He groaned before going over to Lance’s room and knocking on the door.

            “What, Mullet?” Lance said, face covered in a green goop. Keith wrinkled his nose as he played with his fingers.

            “There’s not another bed in Shiro’s room and I don’t want to startle him awake. So is there any room for me in there?” Keith held his breath as he waited for Lance’s answer. Lance blinked before glancing back in his room.

            “There’s only one bed here too. It’s a king-size, at least. But, uh, if I stay to one side and you stay to the other, we should be fine?” Lance shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. It was just a couple of bros sharing a bed. Nothing too deep. 

            “Know what? The couch looks comfy. I’m going to-”

            “It’s fine if you stay here, God,” Lance said as he pulled Keith into the room.

* * *

            “Ava? What are you doing here?” a man in a trench coat said, standing in an empty and dark alleyway. 

            “Updating you. Your source was right. Allura formed Voltron,” Ava said, taking off her curly wig that was her disguise.

            “Of course, my source is right. They’re on the inside,” the man said before handing over a flash drive, “This has all the information you need on anyone qualified for Allura’s little ragtag group of misfits. It also has everything about us on there too. I don’t know who gathered this intel, but we can’t let it leave our hands. I’m going to go undercover soon so contact is limited, copy?”

            “Copy, sir. I won’t let you down.”


	13. Waiting At Base One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Others have some fun, some more so than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :p

_Bang_. Adam looked at the target that was before him in the target range room. He sighed as there was another missed shot. _Why could he get this?_ He lifted up his gun again, aiming for the bullseye. He took a deep breath before holding it as he pressed the trigger. He watched as the bullet raced towards the red dot of the target sheet, only to see it hit right below the bullseye. He sighed and set the gun down. Adam pressed the button to bring the target in to be replaced. He picked the gun back up turning around to go put it away only to find his path was blocked.

            “Hi,” the person asked, standing tall with unwavering eyes. He glanced down at the gun in Adam’s hand before looking back up at Adam’s eyes.

            “What, _Mick_?” Adam hissed as he tapped his foot impatiently, wanting to get out of the suddenly stifling room.

            The man narrowed his eyes and took a step closer, cornering Adam in the booth. Adam glared right back, his stance on the defensive. It was as if a predator was playing with its prey as the two stared at each other, Mick’s metaphorical tail swished as if he was ready to pounce. Mick clenched a fist ready to hit Adam before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to think about this calmly. 

            “Cat got your tongue?” Adam smirked, hoping that would give him the window he needed to make his escape. This only angered the man further. 

            “My name is not _Mick_ here. My name is Carlos and you best remember that, Silent,” Mick growled out, a warning not to cross the angered beast.

            Adam’s glared flashed fear before settling in on anger. He couldn’t let this _monster_ get the best of him. This made Mick smirk, knowing he hit a sore spot. Adam poked Mick in the chest as he growled out, “Whatever game you fuckers are playing. I want no part. And I want you gone before I reveal you to everyone here.”

            Mick laughed in Adam’s face. _If only he knew_.

            “What’s so funny, asshole?” Adam narrowed his eyes, stance shifting to the offensive, ready to throw down. There was no way he was letting his _brother_ , his twin, the last of his blood family, hurt his new family. He couldn’t allow it, not after the _incident_.

            “You’ll find out. I have my orders from the boss,” Mick said before walking back out, smile making Adam sick to his stomach. 

            “ _Chingada!_ ” Adam whispered in frustration. Something bad was going to happen and he was powerless to stop it. 

            In all honesty, Adam was ready to deck Zarkon for putting him through this.

* * *

 

            “Bishop to G3,” Matt said as he moved his chess piece, his sister staring at him from across the table as if she was searching his soul for the moves he was planning to make.

            “Matt, we need to talk,” Pidge said as she took Matt’s bishop with her queen, leaving Matt’s king vulnerable. He sighed at the board, knowing he wasn’t going to win. His sister was too smart sometimes.

            “Okay, shoot,” Matt said as he moved his king away from Pidge’s queen in hopes of somehow defeating her.

            “That Adam guy? I don’t trust him. At least not right now. There’s just something fishy about him, you know,” Pidge said as she moved her queen closer to Matt’s king. She leaned back in her chair as she saw defeat flash on Matt’s face. 

            “Yeah. His face just seems very familiar and I can’t put my finger on it. Guess having a genius brain doesn’t always help,” Mett moved his king again, watching the game of cat and mouse that was being hosted by the board. He should try to make it to Pidge’s king on the other side of the board, but he wouldn’t make it with just his king. He smiled lightly proud of his little sister for being so smart. 

            “Checkmate,” Pidge said as she moved her queen to Matt’s king. Matt pouted at the result of the match before sighing and picking up the box. They were trying to pass the time as they waited for Keith, Lance, and Shiro to land in Rome.

            “I miss home,” Matt suddenly said as he placed the game back into its box. They had played their 35th round, it was time to quit and do something else.

            “Me too,” Pidge said as she stood up stretching her arms as she popped her back. She was stiff for sitting so long, “I think I’m going to go ahead and make sure all the codes are in place for when they officially start their mission.”

            “Good idea. I should try to get some sleep now since I have first watch. Night, Pidgey,” Matt grinned and ruffled her hair before laughing as she lunged at him. The two rolled around on the floor, laughing without a care in the world. 

* * *

 

            “What are you doing?” Allura asked Hunk as she strode into the kitchen, her hair in a loose ponytail as if she was in the process of taking it out. 

            “Stress baking,” Hunk said as he moved around the kitchen as he was dancing at a ball. Each step seemed careful predicted and without hesitation. 

            “Oh. Can I help? I never had the chance to learn how to bake before,” Allura lit up as she settled herself on a barstool. It had been years since she last baked with her mother. They used to make all sorts of things together, although Allura mainly stuck to decorating the various goodies. 

            “Of course! The more the merrier. My mom taught me this macadamia cookie recipe and I think you will enjoy helping. It’s very delicious and easy,” Hunk said as he gathered the ingredients they needed for the cookies. Allura watched as Hunk pre-measured out what they needed as she washed her hands in the sink. She dried them slowly before tossing the towel on top of the counter only to see it snatched away by Hunk. He put the towel back in its spot before gesturing Allura over. 

            “What do you need me to do?” Allura said, eager to help. Maybe this could be a new means of relaxing after a stressful day. 

            “First things first. Clean up after you finish a task. My mom always said, ‘A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen.’ And I stand by the rule to this day. Second, let me tie your hair up a little better so it doesn’t get in the batter. Of course, I’m not as good as Lance with hair. You should ask him some time to fix up your hair, it’s really relaxing!” Hunk said as he moved to put Allura’s hair up in a bun to keep it out of the way. She smiled as she shook her head side to side to see if it would come loose.

            “Thanks! And I’ll see if I can take Lance up on the hair. It would be nice to get it styled once in a while,” Allura then proceeded to lean on the counter, only to miss, knocking the bowl of flour off the edge and all over her.

            “Oh my God,” Hunk said between stifling laughter. Allura just blinked before falling into a round of laughter herself as Hunk attempted to help wipe some of the flour off only to cause the two to fall into more giggles.


	14. What Happens in Rome, Stays in Rome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> B r o g a n e s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :p enjoy

            Lance groaned as the early morning sun woke him from his slumber. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he felt a weight across his chest. He closed his eyes ready to fall back asleep when he suddenly remembered that Keith shared the bed with him last night. That meant that this weight was Keith’s arm. Naturally, Lance’s reaction was to scream. 

            Keith yelped as the scream startled him awake, causing him to fall off the bed as Shiro burst through the door holding a towel in just his boxers, face panicked before he stopped and stared at the mess that was before him. He started laughing at Lance’s terrified face and Keith’s face was eating the ground with the blankets all twisted around his body. He then laughed at himself in his boxers with a towel as a weapon.

            “This is not how I expected this morning to go,” Shiro said as he tried to catch his breath. Keith, after managing to get himself more tangled in the blankets, crossed his arms and huffed at his laughing brother.

            “It’s not funny, Takashit,” Keith snapped, his face resembling that of a tomato. Lance shuffled awkwardly in the bed. His eyes shifting between the two siblings.

            “It kinda is. I mean imagine if this was a knife fight and all I brought was a _towel_ ,” Shiro chuckled as he slung it back over his shoulder, “I’m going to go back to taking a shower.”

            “Don’t slip,” Lance called, finding his voice as Shiro walked out the door.

            “Do slip, bitch,” Keith called out afterwards, still fuming about the state Shiro found him in. He then looked at Lance and lifted an eyebrow as Lance looked away, face flushed. Keith stood up and stood in front of Lance, “Any reason why you decided _screaming_ in my _ear_ was a good idea?”

            “You didn’t stay on your side of the bed,” Lance said, eyes looking away from Keith. Keith rolled his eyes at Lance’s response.

            “And that’s a problem how?” Keith said in disbelief that something so harmless was a big deal. Lance just crossed his arms and turned his head away. Keith groaned lifting his hands in frustration at the Cuban. 

            “Bros don’t cuddle, man,” Lance mumbled out. Keith just inhaled, feeling like Shiro whenever he did something dumb, before picking up his shirt that he had taken off before climbing into the bed last night and putting it back on.

            “I don’t control how my body sleeps. Get over it,” Keith said as he took his suitcase into the adjacent bathroom to get ready for the day because who knows how long Lance was going to spend in the shower if he didn’t go now.

            Lance just groaned and plopped back down onto the soft bed. Why was he overreacting about a simple cuddle? He did it all the time with Hunk when they were younger. Why did it feel so different now? Lance shook his head. His girlfriend died not even a week ago, he was not allowed to catch feelings now, especially with the fact that his and Keith’s tentative friendship was always on the edge of causing world war three. Wait a minute. Catch feelings? No, he couldn’t. He’s 100% into girls and that was that. He was probably misplacing these so-called feelings for admiration. That _definitely_ was it.

            Lance closed his eyes, once more, hoping to catch a few more winks of sleep.

            Keith came out of the shower only a few minutes later, hair tied up in a small ponytail to keep it from completely dripping on his undershirt. He looked over to where Lance was laying in bed, snoring lightly, and tossed his damp towel that had been wrapped around his neck at the sleeping man. Lance jerked up with a yelp and fell out of bed. Keith bit his lip to hopefully contain the laughter, only for a small snort to escape causing Lance to look up and glare. 

            “It’s not funny,” Lance snapped, standing up and throwing the towel back at Keith. The towel landing with a smack on Keith’s face, slowly coming off as gravity took its hold. He blinked once it fell off as Lance roared with laughter. Keith then joined in as Lance’s laughter was contagious. 

            “What is so funny?” Shiro said as he entered the room finding the two on the floor laughing. He sighed with a small smile before glancing down at his watch, “We need to get going in the next thirty minutes if we want to make it to breakfast on time.”

            “Shit!” Lance said as he stopped laughing. He quickly rushed to where his suitcase was, rummaging through it quickly to find everything he needed to take a quick shower. He tripped over the ottoman at the end of the bed, falling face-first on the rug below. He groaned as he got up, slamming the door to the bathroom behind him as the other two stifled their giggles. 

            “You planning to keep your hair in a pony all day or?” Shiro nodded at Keith, who was still trying to recollect himself from laughter.

            “Should I? I mean it keeps most of it out of my face,” Keith shrugged as he started to fiddle with it. Shiro sighed before bringing Keith into a hug. This was the first time he has seen Keith nervous on a mission. The two siblings may have their disagreements, but they always know they’ll have each other because Keith learned that family isn’t blood, it’s who you surround yourself with.

            “I think you might want to do something else that is not just a simple messy ponytail. Maybe a couple of braids leading into it?” Shiro pulled away from the hug, brushing back Keith’s bangs like a mother about to wipe off the top twenty layers of the epidermis trying to get a single spot of dirt off only to realize it’s a freckle.

            “You think you can do that?” Keith raised an eyebrow before smacking his brother’s hand away, “You don’t need to baby me.”

            “But you’re my baby brother. A baby. A small itsy bitsy-” 

            Keith punched Shiro’s stomach.

            “Woah. What’s happening out here?” came Lance’s voice from the bathroom doorway as he walked out, ruffling his hair before putting some things away in his suitcase.

            “Shiro’s being a di-”

            Shiro covered Keith’s mouth as Lance lifted an eyebrow in amusement, being reminded of his own siblings before frowning slightly. He hasn’t visited them in a while. 

            “What he means is--did you just lick my _hand_?” Shiro pulled his hand away before wiping it on Keith’s shirt as Keith tried to avoid it, “Anyway, are you good with braids? I figured we could make Keith’s hair look more professional.”

            “A mullet? Looking professional? Amazing joke Shiro,” Lance fake laughed as Keith glared.

            “It’s not a mullet! It just grows this way.”

            “Okay, okay. Sheesh. I’ll braid it,” Lance said, plopping onto the ottoman and gesturing for Keith to sit down on the floor in front of him. Keith rolled his eyes before complying. Lance stuck his tongue out in concentration as he braided, but in Shiro’s eyes, he was making art. 

            “Ow. Stop pulling so hard,” Keith placed a hand on his head. 

            Lance muttered an apology. Keith’s hair was nothing like Lance imagined it to be. He thought it was going to be rough and full of dead ends but in reality, it was soft and silky. _He hated it_.

            “All done. Go look in the mirror and see the handiwork of Lancey Lance,” Lance pushed Keith to get up and check himself out in the mirror. Meanwhile, Lance was trying to bury his thoughts of wanting to run his hand through Keith’s hair again. _It’s only because it’s soft. It’s only because it’s soft._

            “Wow you did a good job,” Shiro said, slapping Lance on the back like a dad to his son. Lance just smiled before glancing at the time.

            “We need to go!” Lance shouted as he stumbled around rushing to finish getting ready as Keith did the same. Shiro just stood there and shook his head at the two disasters.

            Once they were all ready to go, they headed out of the hotel. They had a short walk to reach the cafe where they’ll be meeting some other esteemed guests. Hopefully, Lance does this part of the mission well and woos all of them to be in the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, Lance decided a shortcut through a creepy alley would make them arrive ahead of the others so the three can scope out the place.

            “ _Give me your money_ ,” a voice called out in Italian. Lance cursed, remembering he never taught Keith a word of Italian or even asked Shiro if he knew any. They were fucked.

            “ _No_ ,” Shiro replied, holding onto the briefcase he had brought with him. It had some money, fake of course, to bribe people with if necessary and a towel, which was only in there because Shiro forgot he was holding one when they left the hotel. 

            “ _Yes. Empty your pockets,_ ” the guy pulled out a knife and waved it around threateningly. Keith, who didn’t understand the language, got the hint when the knife came out.

            “ _I will not. My father will be hearing about this_ ,” Lance snapped back before feeling the point of another knife on his back. They were surrounded. 

            “ _You will do as I say_ ,” the main guy replied. Shiro sighed as he opened the case, pulling the towel out before closing it back up, hoping there wasn’t another guy behind him.

            “I don’t think so,” Shiro said as he twirled the towel around before taking a defensive pose. All hell broke loose.


	15. Lotor Exists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor in MY tooms? More likely than you think

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yes i wrote stuff goodnight

            Veronica couldn’t sleep. Her mind was running through the possible ways the mission could end with her brother being dead. She sighed as she got out of bed. It wasn’t her turn to monitor Lance, Keith, and Shiro but she couldn’t sleep without knowing if they were okay. Veronica grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her as she made her way to the small command center where Adam was taking the first watch. She plopped in a chair and rolled over next to Adam.

            “Hey,” she yawned and pulled the blanket tighter. Adam nodded back as his face started to frown at the screen. Veronica sat up as she watched Adam start to quickly click between things.

            “Shit!” Adam threw the headphones he had been wearing onto the desk in front of him as he started to rub his eyes.

            “What’s happening?” Veronica said, trying to crane her neck in a way to see what Adam had been looking at. The screen showed a blurry CVC camera that was trained on a group of people in a dim alleyway. She squinted a bit and realized that Shiro and Keith were fighting a couple of thugs while Lance tried not to jump in a blow his cover.

            “Something is up. Why would Lance take a shortcut through a _dark_ alleyway? Isn’t that no-no number one when traveling in a different country?” Adam hissed as he was furiously trying to figure out who the guys were. Veronica hummed as she watched the fight, not quite registering the accusation coming out of Adam’s mouth. 

            Veronica blinked, “Are you accusing _my_ brother of sabotaging this mission?” She crossed her arms and lifted a brow, “You didn’t, I don’t know, consider the fact that maybe he was taking a shortcut to try and scope out the restaurant? Not every criminal likes to hide in an alleyway waiting for some dumb rich kid, _who for one is a local_ , to stumble into them so they can swipe his pockets clean. Besides, it’s clear this was a setup.”

            Adam sighed, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse your brother of anything. I’m just worried about Shiro. He’s really all I have left, and I don’t want to lose him,” Adam lowered his voice, “Not again. I can’t do it again.” 

            Veronica closed her eyes before taking a seat next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry, too. I just have a hard time when Lance is out in the field without me. _Especially_ , with people he doesn’t fully trust,” she watched Adam’s mouth start to open to defend Shiro and Keith, “Not that I’m saying they are untrustworthy or bad people. Trust is a two-way street and lying gets you nowhere, _Silent_. That is if that’s even your real code name.”

            Adam froze as Veronica glared into his eyes. _She knew_. This wasn’t good. But how? How did she know? Adam realized a second too late he didn’t deny it.

            “So, it is true. You’re a double agent for Zarkon,” Veronica spat with disgust as she stood up, ready to report this to Allura.

            “No!” Adam said, grabbing her arm before she could get any further.

            “No?” she raised her eyebrow, “You had an awfully long time to even deny what I said was true. I’m not inclined to believe otherwise.”

            “Please, let me explain,” he let go of her arm, allowing her to have a choice to stay and listen. 

            “Okay. Go on,” Veronica retook her seat, gesturing for Adam to do the same. 

            “Let’s get one thing straight-”

            “You’re not?”

            “Yes, but not what I meant. I _used_ to work for Zarkon. I don’t anymore, not after the… incident. And before you ask, I don’t want to talk about it right now. It was a long time ago, before I met Shiro. If anything, it wasn’t a choice at first to work for him. I was a kid, maybe five or six, and my parents had gotten this new job together that had its own schooling in the same building that my parents were to be working in, so they were never that far from us. The only thing about it was, they were brainwashing us. They wanted perfect soldiers that followed orders no matter what. Even if that meant a four-year-old had a confirmed kill count of over a hundred in two months. They took the _innocence_ of young impressionable children,” Adam took a sharp breath before continuing, “We were child soldiers. There’s no sugarcoating it now.”

            “ _Dios_ ,” Veronica whispered before pulled Adam into a hug, “You don’t have to tell me more if you don’t want to.”

            Adam nodded, knowing he was going to tell all of it to her later; however, for now, he was going to keep an eye on the team.

* * *

            Lotor paced around the small room, irritation obvious. How was he supposed to accomplish his goal if _no one_ was doing their job!

            “Calm down, Lotor,” Ezor said as she filed her nails with a knife. She _loved_ the stereotype of a tough girl using a knife to do anything to their nails.

            “Your pacing is making me sick,” Zethrid hit her head on the wall behind her in frustration. 

            “Acxa hasn’t checked in yet. I’m allowed to worry. If any of us were to get caught, everything would be for naught!” 

            “Hey, that rhymed!” Ezor snorted, finally putting her knife away, “Relax. She probably got caught up in being discreet and making sure she wasn’t being followed. Typical Acxa move.”

            “She’s right,” Zethrid said before draping herself over the entire couch she was sitting on.

            “Fine, but if something did go wrong, I’m blaming you two,” Lotor said before going into the small kitchen in their hideout. 

            Ezor and Zethrid shrugged at each other before looking over at Natari who was sleeping. It was nice to know she was a heavy sleeper, so they didn’t have to worry about disturbing her. 

            “Wanna bet that Acxa just forgot to call in and is in fact on her way here now?” Ezor said, placing a pack of gum on the coffee table as a bet.

            “You’re on,” Zethrid smirked and set a pack of mints on the table. Ezor lit up as she recognized the brand as being her favorite. Zethrid smiled sheepishly at her giddy face. Zethrid may have purposely bought those mints just for Ezor.

            The two suddenly heard a noise coming from the front door. Ezor immediately grabbed her knife as Zethrid grabbed the gun that was conveniently on the table. The two watched the knob turn and the door open before they leaped into action, only to find Acxa stepping in. Ezor cheered and collected her winnings as Zethrid pouted with a soft smile on her face.

            “What is going on?” Acxa just glanced between the two as Ezor was doing a little dance, waving the mints around.

            “Nothing much. Just Lotor upset that you didn’t check-in and Ezor winning a bet for the thousandth time,” Zethrid shrugged before plopping herself back on the couch. 

            “You mean you let her win for the thousandth time,” Acxa shook her head with a small smile, still in the running for winning the bet on when Zethrid and Ezor were going to get together. 

            “Welcome back, Acxa,” Lotor said as he came into the room holding a sandwich. Acxa just shrugged and snatched the sandwich from his plate before taking a big bite out of it, setting it back down. Lotor sighed, too used to this from her.

            “We still on par for our mission?” Acxa leaning back into the nearest armchair.

            “For now, as long as Mada gives Pink the drive.”


End file.
